Trainer Mew and The Best Hoenn Remake
by Mew Ike
Summary: Mew is a girl that every pokemon wants to kill. Unable to be a trainer, she moves to Hoenn and is given a pokemon in a masterball. As she travels, she falls in love with two boys, gains the power of two legendary pokemon, and finds out the true origin of her mysterious name. Her face now well-known, mysterious trainer Red starts taking interest in her as well.Long story, still fun!
1. Torchic in a Master Ball! My New Friend?

Trainer Mew and the Best Hoenn Remake

The truck came to a stop. I fell to my knees, nearly scraping them on the cold metal floor. I stood up, picked up the 3DS I had dropped, and leaned against the boxes. If I was lucky, my family had finally gotten to our new home. My dad, or Norman as he prefers to be called, is a great pokemon trainer. So good that he got called out here to the Hoenn Region to be a gym leader. It was easy to say that driving was not his strong suit.

I leaned back against the boxes. The engine of the truck idled for a few seconds before turning off completely. I heard the mumbled chatter of my parents and a few of the machokes that dad asked for specifically to carry in our personal items. The door to the back of the truck opened, so quickly so that the rush of blinding white light forced me to look the other way.

"Quit being such a wimp," Dad teased. I felt a hand take a hold of mine and help me down the stairs that unfolded when the door opened. I nearly twisted my ankle on the landing, but Dad did the same thing he always did. Slap me roughly on the shoulder, smile wide, and say, "Rub some salt on it!"

I rubbed my eyes. When I opened them, I found myself surrounded by a small town. There were about ten houses in the neighborhood around us. Out near the end of the street to my left was a laboratory-looking building. The other way lead to a pathway filled with grass that desperately needed a good trimming. From there, the path was too far away to see clearly. The houses looked similar, not too similar, but enough that the first couple weeks walking home would be hard to find it without being tempted to walk into someone else's house.

"Mew," my dad repeated. "Are you listening?" I faced him and blinked.

"No, Dad." I looked back down at the street at the tall grass. A zigzagoons tail popped out for a second before disappearing again. I guess that's why they didn't cut it; pokemon were living in them. A zigzagoon: we were definitely in the Hoenn Region.

"Well, listen. You need to set the clock in your room, set up your pc, get your Wii U hooked up, and last but not least, make friends with the neighbor." I stared at him. "Now, Mew. If you're going to start a new life, at least start it right."

"Ok, I'll do it." I turned around and stepped up to the house. It was a bit taller and lighter than the other houses, but other than that, there was no particular quality that made it special. My favorite touch was the sitrus berry wreath that my mother already hung on the door. She was just walking in with two machokes by her side when I spotted her.

I walked up to the house, surprised that there was no an inch of road, gravel or sidewalk anywhere in this town. It was all nicely-trimmed grass and flowers. When I was inside, I noticed that another machoke was barking commands at the others in his brisk voice.

"Ma! Choke! Ma! Choke!"

"Over here, honey!" My mom beckoned me over to the kitchen, where she was just heating up the stove. When I was at her side, she held out a new pair of shoes. Not just any shoes, but the top-notch new running shoes made by some company called Devon. "Your father was supposed to wear these, but they sent too small a size. He wants you to have them instead."

Even though I knew my father had the same shoe size at me, I took them anyways. Dad never got new shoes. He hated every pair except his own. They were so old that every week mom would have to stitch them up to fix them. Sometimes she would have to buy leather from the store downtown from our old house in Kanto. I wonder what she'll have to do now.

"Are you going upstairs?" she asked. "Your room looks nice, if you don't mind me saying already."

"Yeah. I'll go set the clock and whatnot." She tilted her head and smiled brightly.

"Norman already putting you to work?" she asked. I nodded. "Don't mind him, dear. He's worried about being beat on his first day as a gym leader. He was talking to his vigoroth the whole ride, you know."

"Is…" I started. "Is that why he was driving like a five year old?" Mom laughed nervously.

"Go on upstairs, Mew. I'll have a meal for you when you come back down." My stomach grumbled in reply. Mom gestured me off and turned to the water that was already boiling on the stove.

Before I stepped up the stairs, I felt the eyes of the machokes fall on me. I put my hand on the railing and turned to them. They stared, unblinking at me. I met each of their eyes before looking away and walking up the stairs. I've been stared at by pokemon before. It was no rare occurrence and a reason why I didn't want one of my own. They were all afraid of me for some reason. Some even escaped from their pokeballs to try and attack me. I had been attacked by so many pokemon as a child that when I turned ten I didn't sign up to become a trainer. Maybe I could become a doctor for humans. It wasn't in great demand, but it was something that had absolutely nothing to do with the abnormal creatures.

My name is Mew. That's right, like Mew the pokemon. You see, when I was born, my mom still hadn't picked out a name for me. Being as obsessed with pokemon as she was at the time, she decided to name me after a pokemon. She loved all of them, however, so it took her a few days to decide. She decided to name me after all of them. She named me Mew, who could transform into all of them. I'm a sixteen year old girl with bright light pink hair and purple eyes. Those colors are not the result of dyes or contacts. My mom told me I was born early so the doctor said it was completely natural. I am five foot four and weight about one-hundred and fifteen pounds. I was born and raised in Saffron City in the Kanto Region, but ever since that incident with Team Rocket and the Silph Corporation, Dad has been intent on moving us elsewhere. Three and a half years later, here we are.

I walked into my room and was splashed by a beam of water. I had to grab the railing to avoid being pushed back down the stairs. The spray stopped and I realized that there was a boy my age in my room. The mudkip at his feet was in a fighting stance, water dripping from his mouth.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I shouted. "Mom, I told you to lock the god damn door! Pokemon trainers just walk in and do whatever they want!" She laughed from downstairs.

"What you labeling me for?" the boy asked. "You're a trainer, too." The boy looked about my age. He had black hair, but it was barely poking out from under his hat that gave the impression that he had white hair under a black and red headband. His outfit was a lot like the stock one I had been provided with when my father was accepted as a gym leader: black and red with pokeball imprints here and there. I touched my headband which I had tied into a neat bow to make sure it still looked good.

"No," I said quickly. "I'm not. And from the looks of it, you just started yourself." The boy smiled and picked up the mudkip in his arms. The creature was already glaring at me.

"I'm sorry. If I had known you didn't have a pokemon of your own, I wouldn't have attacked you. And I guess you could say I just started. I had a team of my own, but I battled with them so much I'm giving them a break and leaving them in the PC while I get started all over again."

"You really love battling," I admitted. "What kind of pokemon did you have before-" the mudkip yapped suddenly and started squirming in his arms. I backed away and reached into my pocket, where I kept a knife handy.

"Mudkip, what's wrong?" The boy lost a grip on his pokemon and it dropped to the floor, growling and trembling at my feet. I clasped the knife harder, ready to yank it out and use it when the mudkip stopped growling and started sniffing the shoes I had slipped on while going up the stairs. When he had gotten a noseful, he backed away and started prancing around my room. The boy's eyes glowed in my direction out of sudden interest. When I met his gaze, it had vanished. "Well, that was odd."

"It's not for me," I said. There was no doubt if the mudkip hadn't smelt my mom's scent on the shoes, it would've attacked me. I hesitantly released the knife in my pocket and drew my hand out from it. "Pokemon hate me. Every last one of them."

"Don't say that," he interrupted. "I'm sure there's some pokemon out there that loves you."

"I haven't met one. Anyways, what's your name?" The boy looked defeated, but switched the subject willingly.

"I'm Brendan Birch. You?"

"Mew."

"Mew?"

"Yes."

"Like… the pokemon?"

"Yeah. My mom really liked that pokemon back in Kanto." Brendans' face lit up at the word 'Kanto.'

"Oh, that's where you're from! Have you met Red?" I chuckled.

"I guess I might be asked that a lot here. No, I never met him. But when Silph went down, my dad talked to him for a short while. The guy was busy, like really busy. You can imagine why. Dad wouldn't let him around me, though. I was too young and Reds' pokemon were just monsters. They would kill me if they wanted to." Brendan put his hand on his chin and nodded.

"Interesting. That's pretty cool, Mew." His words made my face lift in a smile. I guess what dad said was right. There were a lot of nice people here. Maybe Brendan would be my first real friend. "Hey, I heard your mom wanted you to set your clock, so I set it for you." I noticed the clock on the wall was ticking with the exact time on it.

"Oh, thanks!" I pulled the bag off my shoulder and started unpacking my Wii U. Brendan's face lit up again. "You like this thing?"

"Oh, you have no idea," he said, his voice suddenly higher. "I'm saving up for one." He leaned down and began to help me set it up to the TV the machokes had already put in the room. As soon as I had finished the wiring, he pulled out all my games. "Pokemon, Pokemon, Pokemon," he read quietly. His eyes met mine, the question asked aloud.

"I…" I started. "I like playing the games."

"But, they're all out there, you know?" Brendan sat beside me after setting the games on a shelf. "You sure you don't want to go and try and catch one?"

"I can't. They all attack me. And when I do catch one, they end up running away or escaping." I sighed. "I'm, just not cut out to be a trainer." Brendan opened his mouth to comfort me, but an item in his pocket started ringing. He pulled out a phone-looking device and answered it. Right away, a frantic yelling consumed his ear. He had to hold it far from his head to avoid being deafened. I wasn't able to understand it, but Brendan seemed to catch on right away.

He slammed the device shut and grabbed my wrist. Before I had time to protest, he got on his feet and pulled me out of the room, down the stairs, and outside. I was stumbling to catch up.

"B-Brendan, where are we going?!" I shouted. I had barely spoken when I realized that we were on our way out of the city towards the tall grass. My heart dropped. "No, no, no, no! Please! If you take me there, I'll be killed!"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." He dragged me further until we were running in the tall grass that just tickled me chin. I closed my eyes and tucked my arms in close, trying my hardest to avoid being attacked by any wild pokemon. Luckily for me, I managed to emerge unscaved.

"Brendan! Help!" I opened my eyes. An older geezer with a beard and dark brown hair was pressed up against the trunk of a tree, three poochyena pinning him in place. "It's happening again! Quick! Battle them!"

"On it, pops!" Brendan shouted back. Before he even said the word, his mudkip was on the field and ready to battle. The pokemon tackled one of the dark-type pokemon, tossing it aside with a swift headbutt.

My knees started trembling. The other two poochyena had detected me and were now slowly creeping up on me, teeth bared. I backed away, reaching in my pocket to grab my knife. When I felt it brush my fingertips, I backed right into somebody. I was too panicked to fight as he gently took my hand from my pocket and placed a briefcase in my palm. I grabbed it and pulled away. When I turned back to face him, what I saw surprised me.

He was… gorgeous. He had light blue hair is beautiful disarray. His light green eyes were calm. They seemed to look right through mine. He was wearing a black suit with a blue zigzag running through it and a red tie under it. His black pants and dress shoes were without a smudge of dirt. He looked at me and gestured to the briefcase.

"It's the professors' bag," he explained. "In it you can choose from two pokemon. Your friend already picked the water one, so there's either grass or fire. It's up to you."

"Y-you don't understand!" I shouted. "Pokemon hate me! All of them!" I pushed the briefcase back at him. "I guarantee you all of them in here will be no different!" The guy raised a surprised eyebrow at me. Obviously he had never come across this snag before.

One of the poochyena raced forward and nipped at my hand. I screamed and pulled away. Blood started trickling down my arm. I grabbed at it, trying to restrict the blood flow. In the process of all this, I had dropped the bag and three pokeballs had fallen out. No, I was mistaken. Only two pokeballs had fallen out. The other was a master ball.

"What in the world?!" the gorgeous boy cried out. Professor Birch, who was once busy shouting at Brendan on how to use the mudkip, looked over towards us. When he saw that the contents of his case had spilled, his face turned devastated. He quickly recovered, however, and waved, urging me to look at him.

"Take the master ball!" he shouted. The gorgeous man and I stared at him in bewilderment. "Just do it! It's your destiny!"

I don't know what came over me. When the second poochyena dove for the master ball, I dove myself and snatched it before it could think to touch it. The dark pokemon instead latched onto my arm and started throwing its' head left and right, tearing my flesh to shreds.

"Whoever you are!" I shouted, tears streaming down my face. "I choose you!"

The master ball jumped from my hand and took to the air. When it was my height, it slowly began to open. A bright light consumed the entire outdoors. I felt it tanning my flesh. Even from behind closed eyelids my eyes were burning from the brilliance. The dark pokemon on my arm released my arm and left it in tatters. Yet, for some reason, I no longer felt any pain.

The light suddenly ceased. I opened my eyes. At first, I was scared to look at my arm, but forced myself to do it anyway. It was healed. Every scratch, every bit of meat that had been taken from me was back in place and flawlessly healed. Even the blood that had once soaked my arm was gone.

The poochyena howled and yelped. When the light had consumed them they must have been running around in circles, for when it finally cleared, they all looked around, confused and out of breath. They met eyes with each other, then turned to the pokemon that the master master ball had produced: a torchic.

"Torc!" the pokemon chirped. "Chic!"

For reasons unknown, the three poochyenas all yowled in alarm and started running away, their tails between their legs. The fire starter pokemon flapped her tiny wings and hopped after them with no intent to pursue, just to scare. As soon as they were gone, the bird turned back and met my eyes. I stared back. Oddly enough, I felt no urge to reach for my knife.

The bird stared at me for a short while. Then it slowly began to approach me. I stood there, watching its' every move with narrowed eyes. When it was at my feet, it gently pecked my shoes. I put my hand down for it to take a quick sniff of. When it had its' fill, it jumped up into my arms. I caught it right in time, surprised.

And right then, with its' giant head nuzzled up against my chest, I knew my dream had come true.

I was finally a pokemon trainer.

Prolougue Over

Save Game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!


	2. Who is my Friend? Rival or Champion?

Chapter 2

My dad slammed his hands against the table. The plate of jelly doughnuts that had been placed there shivered. His face was dark red like a strawberry. The veins in his neck and forehead pulsed thickly. I went back to stroking my torchic. The pokemon was oddly not alarmed by what was going on around it. It was looking about the inside of the room with wide eyes, chirping happily every time I tickled under her chin. I was debating what to call her. Yes, I know this was not the time to be thinking about it, but I had to get my mind off what had just happened.

After the incident, several people in LittleRoot town had heard the commotion and called the cops. As soon as my torchic had scared off the pokemon, the cops had arrived and Brendan, the gorgeous guy, and the older man who had been attacked by the poochyena in the first place had all been taken into custody. I thought it was a bit stupid to have to walk through the tall grass to get to the Odale police station, but we didn't get attacked again, so I kept my mouth shut.

"What were you thinking?!" Dad shouted. "You know how pokemon react when you are around them! What would compel you to go out in the tall grass and take on three poochyena at once?!" I stroked Torchic a little harder. "Well?!"

"It wasn't my fault, Dad," I stated. "Brendan got a call from someone and then he took me with him to save him. I didn't want to go but he was dragging me by the wrist!"

"Don't make excuses, young lady!" Dad leaned forward. "You should have ran! You should have called for help!" I blinked in surprise. Then I, too, leaned forward and began shouting.

"It's not my fault! I'm just fine, aren't I?" I squeezed Torchic. "And I got a pokemon, Dad. Aren't you happy for me?" The anger on his face intensified.

"You know how I feel about you around pokemon! They're not your friends! Three of them almost killed you!"

"And one of them saved my life!" I shouted back. "You don't understand, Dad! This is a good thing!"

"If I may interrupt?" Dad and I looked toward the door. The gorgeous guy that had handed me the briefcase had entered the room without us knowing. His eyes were focused on my father intently. He had a bit of a smile on his face. "Norman, is it? I didn't think I would meet you until a bit after you moved in." He held out his hand. My father took it, eyeing me angrily.

"Yes, I am Norman. I was supposed to be in Petalburg today, but-"

"I am aware of the circumstances," the gorgeous man said politely. "I have contacted your gym. They expect you first thing tomorrow. No exceptions after today." Dad blinked in surprise.

"Why… why thank you. What is your name?"

"Steven Stone." My dad released his hand and backed away. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

"St-Steven Stone?! You mean you were… you… you're here right now?!" I looked between the two. Steven? What a stupid name for such a cool-looking guy. Why was Dad so freaked out about it? "I cannot find the words to say how sorry I am for today!" Steven held up his hand, a gesture for him to remain calm.

"There is no need to be sorry, Norman." He looked at me, smiling softly. "Your daughter is quite the individual. She saved Professor Birch and your neighbor from a group of poochyenas."

"Who are you?" I asked. My dad pointed at me.

"Mind your manners!" Dad shouted. "You're talking to the Hoenn Region Champion!" My jaw clacked shut. Out of respect, I bowed my head.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stone." He put his thumb and forefinger on my chin and lifted it so I could look directly into his emerald-green eyes. My heart started throbbing and my face flushed red. I tried to say something, but all that came out was indescribable nonsense.

"Please, young lady. Call me Steven. Mr. Stone is my grandfather." He released me gently and turned back to my father. I looked away, trying my hardest to return my face back to normal. Torchic gently pecked my face, chirping in laughter. The Hoenn Region Champion? I would have never guessed it would be someone as cool as him.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. Was he helping me because it was his job to? Or was he genuinely trying to help me?

"Your daughter is amazing, Norman. She risked injury at the cost to save that torchic." He glanced back at me. "And at the time, she had no idea what was inside the master ball."

"Master ball?" My dad looked at me, then back at the Champion. "That torchic was inside a master ball?" Steven nodded, then opened the door behind him. The old guy I had saved, Brendan, and Officer Jenny stepped into the room.

"Jen!" I shouted, standing up. I placed Torchic on the table and ran to her. She took me into her arms and hugged me tightly. "I'm so glad you're here!" I pulled away. "But why are you here and not in Kanto?"

"The Hoenn police force needed more members, so I volunteered right away." She smiled. "It looks like I got here just on time, too." She caught sight of the pokemon on the table. "Is that pokemon yours?"

"Yes, it is now." The old geezer I had saved adjusted his glasses. "Your name is Mew? How cute!" I shook his hand. "I'm Professor Birch. You can call me Birch for short. I'm the professor of this region. You've met my son, by the sounds of it." Brendan met eyes with me and rubbed the back of his head, smiling anxiously.

"Mew, is it?" Steven smiled wider. "What a peculiar name. May I ask why she was named thusly?" He was taking interest in me, too? It didn't sound like he was trying to be nice for show. He was genuinely curious.

"We are from the Kanto region, you see," Norman explained. "My wife couldn't decide was to name her until she was born, in which case she had a dream about Mew curling up next to our baby girl. So we named her Mew." I stared at him. Mom had told me a completely different story. She had told me she couldn't decide and named me after all of them. She actually had a dream about Mew?

"My, my! How amazing!" Steven clapped his hands together. "Officer Jenny, I can assure you all that happened today was complete misfortune. I've been helping give out starter pokemon to new trainers. When I saw that Brendan had the whole situation under control, I thought that Mew would like to join in. I did not expect such a drastic outcome or I would have intervened."

"Understood, sir." Officer Jenny turned to all of us. "You are all free to go." The room breathed a heavy sigh. With Professor Birch in the lead, we began to empty out of the room. As soon as we were outside, I took a deep breath in. Odale town was bigger than LittleRoot, it had a pokemon center, a pokemart, and a few more houses. Yet it seemed to look a lot the same. I was just beginning to look which way home was when Mom, crying, came up and hugged me.

"Are you ok?! What happened?! It was all in the news! I came as soon as I could!" She was sobbing hysterically. Norman grabbed her and had her hug onto him instead of strangling me. Dad was the only person I knew who could be able to breathe whenever she was upset and hugging so vigorously.

"She's ok, honey," he coaxed. "She's just fine. She even got her first pokemon." Mom stopped sobbing to gape. Dad nodded. "She even picked torchic. She has your knack for liking fire types."

"Is that true, Mew?" I shrugged.

"She sorta picked me." As soon as I said it, Torchic jumped in my arms. She nuzzled herself under my chin. "See?"

"How cute!" Mom wiped away her tears and hugged me. "That must mean it's your time to leave the house then, right Norman?" I twitched.

"U-uh, I didn't really think-" I started.

"Yeah. I think it's finally time for her to spread her wings." Norman hugged onto her.

"Wait just a minute I'm not ready to-"

"I'll have your father give you your stuff when you reach Petalburg," Mom decided. She released Dad and hugged me. "Be sure to train hard, eat healthy, and don't sleep in the bushes. The pokemon centers everywhere will have places you can stay."

"I don't want to-" Steven stepped in and pat me on the head. His hand was so warm and soft while it ruffled my light pink hair. It felt oddly satisfying. I stopped talking to enjoy it.

"If you would like, I can sign her up for the Pokemon League." I nearly fainted at the mention of battling countless other pokemon with my own. I never expected to go out and actually have a pokemon of my own. Especially after I just moved to LittleRoot. "Would you like that?" he asked me in particular. I looked left and right three times before focusing on my feet, burying my face in torchics absurdly warm fur and nodding. "Then it is settled. Mew of LittleRoot town, you will start your pokemon journey in the morning."

"Morning?" I looked up at the sky. Wow. There were a lot of stars here in Hoenn. That or it was just harder to see them in Saffron. It was beautiful to be able to see them and the beautiful white moon. I hadn't realized it had gotten so late.

"You'll be fine on your own, Mew." My dad was in front of me now, mom under his arm. "We're proud of you. If you need anything, we will just be a phone call away." He handed me that odd device that Birch had used to contact Brendan when he needed help. "It's a PokeNav. It has a map, a phone, and several other apps you can add onto it. Your mothers' and my numbers are already in there, as well as Birch."

"Ooh, don't forget me!" Brendan reached forward and took it from Norman before I could and punched a bunch of buttons before handing it back to me. It had barely touched my palm when Steven took it and silently punched in numbers of his own. I started blushing.

"I, um, wasn't quite expecting to leave today. Or ever, for that matter," I admitted.

"Becoming a pokemon trainer is sometimes quick," Steven told me. "Other times it takes a lifetime of planning and hard work." I met his eyes again. He smiled genuinely and turned to Brendan. "Is that a hat? Or perhaps is your hair naturally white?"

"Oh, it's a hat." Brendan suddenly sounded defensive. Steven raised his eyebrow. "My hair is falling out," he added quickly. "I was hoping no one noticed."

"Pardon my asking," Steven said, bowing his head and closing his eyes. "I did not mean to bring up something embarassing." Then he turned to Professor Birch. "Professor. May I ask why that torchic was in a master ball? I had no idea Devon corporation had released it already." Their eyes met, and for a minute I thought I saw a silent battle going on between them.

"It has not been released to the public," Birch said carefully. "They gave it to me to try it out."

"On a torchic, Professor?"

"Dad is getting old," Brendan defended. "He thought it was a more rare pokemon. He didn't realize his mistake until the torchic had been caught." He looked at the ground. "I have to say that the Devon corporation is not too happy with it…"

"I see." Steven said this, but something told me he was not buying the story at all. "Well, that leaves me to return home. Brendan, I recall you starting your own journey? Why don't you show Mew to the pokemon center? She needs to learn all about how to be a trainer." Brendan was oddly surprised.

"O-oh, yes! I can do that." Mom and Dad were completely oblivious to the internal quarrel between the two trainers.

"You have fun, Mew. Please visit home whenever you can, alright?" Mom hugged me tightly. I hugged her back. "We are so proud of you."

"Thanks mom. I'll be just fine," I assured. Dad came over and pat me hard on the shoulder. "Let me guess, rub some salt on it?" He smiled wide.

"You know me so well." He pat me again. "Rub some more salt on it next time you get in trouble, ya hear? You're not always going to get off as easily as this one, you know."

"I'll stay out of trouble," I promised.

"You better. As soon as you are up to battle me, I'm not going to go easy on you!" Then he turned away, took mom by the hand, and started heading home. I felt someone take my own wrist in their hands.

"C'mon, Mew. It's getting dark. The pokemon center isn't that far away." Brendan sounded somewhat urgent. I looked over his shoulder and saw that the Professor was following my parents home. They welcomed him into their little group and they all disappeared in the tall grass.

"Actually, Brendan," Steven said, calmly interrupting. "I was hoping to talk to Mew by myself, if you wouldn't mind." There was a sudden flash of anger in his eyes, but he released me. After a quick head-to-toe check of the champion, he turned and stalked off towards the pokemon center.

My heart started beating. I crossed my arms, trying to get it to settle down. What was wrong with me? Why was I freaking out this badly? Was it because I've never been alone with a champion, let alone a boy? My hormones were out of control. I began to sweat.

"You needn't be nervous, Mew." He put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm just here to talk to you." I met his eyes. I could've gotten lost in those emerald depths, but I forced myself to refrain.

"Y-yeah?" I asked quietly.

"You can't trust Brendan. Or Professor Birch." I froze. His eyes were suddenly consumed with a determined fire. "They are lying. I work under Devon corporation, the head branch in charge of Silph back in your home region. They manufactured the master ball, but it was stolen." He lifted my chin again. I started blushing wildly. "I don't know what it is, not yet, but people who lie so deeply must have a terrible secret." He released me and instead held out his hands. "May I see your torchic?"

I had almost forgotten that I had the cute pokemon in my hands. She had gone unusually silent. When he held out his hand, she jumped his arms, flapping to try and glide over to him. He put the chick on the ground and kneeled in front of her. I did the same. The torchic did a few little leaps, some turns, and made some noise. She knew she was being examined, and she didn't mind easing his mind. Though it didn't seem to help.

"May I see the ball she came in?" Steven asked. I handed it to him. He examined it slowly. He stopped when he started observing the back. I looked where he was concentrated and sure enough, one of the hinges keeping the ball shut had been broken off and reattached. Whatever pokemon had been in the ball before had broken from it. From the looks of it, it had been an insanely powerful pokemon.

"I see." He handed it back to me and stood. I did the same and the torchic started running around my feet, chirping a cute melody. "Don't you think that a pokemon professor would capture a torchic in this? The master ball is rather valuable."

"I… I think it's weird," I agreed. Steven paused.

"You must be overwhelmed. I'm sorry to have bothered you." He turned away and began to leave. I acted on my own again. I leaned forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Wait." He stopped mid step at the word. He looked back at me, showing only a sliver of his face.

He was blushing, too. I didn't know what it was about him. His dreamy looks, his cool demeanor, or maybe the fact that he was so interested in me already, but there was something about him I liked. Something I trusted.

"So much has happened today. And I'm so confused." He smiled. The red on his face was still prevalent, but he managed to face me. "C-can I… um…" I tried to think of the words.

"No, I'm afraid you can't come with me." My heart dropped.

"Oh. Ok-"

"But you can call me." He had interrupted so quickly, I was surprised. He took a deep breath through his nose to calm himself. "I'm available whenever there isn't a challenger. I can visit you, too. But it's against competition policy that you go places where only I can go. I hope you understand."

"I do." I released him. "How often do you have challengers?" He laughed at my words. I started blushing even harder. As soon as he was done, he smiled and met my eyes in warm comfort.

"They come and go at random. Text me from time to time and we can work from there." He paused. "But you have to believe me when I say you can't trust Brendan and Birch, at least for now."

"I won't." I paused. "But I can't… I can't fully trust you either." I know what I said was true. I had been in this region for a day and already people were beginning to flood around me, ask me questions, and get deeper into my life. But if there was anyone I felt I could trust, it would be Steven. He nodded.

"I would want nothing less. You're entering a large and dangerous new world. There will be hardly anybody you can trust." He pulled a pokeball from his belt and dropped it. A skarmory appeared before us, ruffling its' steel feathers in anticipation. It caught my eyes and squawked loudly. I drew the knife from my pocket and pointed it at it. The skarmory leaned down and took it from my hand only to swallow it and lick its' lips hungrily afterward. "Skarmory," Steven said calmly. The bird pokemon unruffled its' feathers and began to mumble quietly to itself. Now the champion was staring at me with narrow eyes.

"I-I have to keep it on me," I explained. "Or else I'll get hurt. My parents taught me how to use it when I was so young I didn't think-"

"Mew," he interrupted. "It's ok. I understand now that I have seen it." He looked at his bird pokemon. "Never would I have thought my calm pokemon would have such a bloodlust for a woman like you."

"I'm only sixteen," I said. "I'm not really a woman."

"Then I am not really a man," Steven replied with a smile.

"You're… you're only…?" I was baffled.

"I'm about to turn seventeen." He chuckled. "Surprisingly, I'm not the youngest champion there's ever been. Maybe you can make a record."

"Wait, wait, wait-" He ignored me and hopped on Skarmory. He pat her side, whispering in her ear before delicately plucking one of the longer, sharper feathers from her tail. He handed it to me. It was so big and heavy it was almost half my height. "I can't take this! People will be so afraid of it."

"As will pokemon," Steven assured. "The knife wouldn't have helped you here. Take that and take good care of it. Wrap it in the fabric of hatched silcoons and it will lighten up. That and it won't tear you up when you carry it."

"You're giving it to me?" I whispered. He nodded once.

"Pokemon target you. I do not know why, but I will get to the bottom of it." He reached his hand down and brushed the bangs from my eyes. "You will do fine, Mew. I know you will. Be safe." The skarmory started lifting off the ground.

"But what if I'm in trouble?" I asked quickly, panicked. "I don't know how to use this! It doesn't have anywhere I can hold it!" He laughed loudly.

"You have one hell of a torchic there, Mew. I'm more afraid for the other Pokemon!" He took to the skies. "Be sure to keep it out of the pokeball! The last thing you need is to be attacked when it's in there!" Then he vanished into the dark night. Clouds started to cover the moon and the chill in the air dropped. I wrapped my jacket around my shoulders, grabbed Torchic, and headed toward the pokecenter.

I don't know what I felt then. It was something between glee and loneliness. Steven had left something in me that I couldn't quite shake off: a new type of feeling. I put my hand over my face and took a deep breath.

Sweet Arceus, what had I gotten myself into?

Mew Received Torchic!

Would you like to save the game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Continue?


	3. Is Dad Safe? The Gym's on Fire!

Chapter 2

The next day was bright and sunny. I was surprised at how hot it was compared to the day before. When I stepped out of the pokecenter, where I had spent the night sleeping peacefully, Brendan emerged himself. He stretched, arms to the sky, and pat me on the back. I stumbled a few feet forward.

"Ready to start your journey, Mew?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." I was surprised his hand wasn't cut by the blade I kept in my bag. I was sharp so I would have to move slowly to avoid having my backpack torn to shreds. He had no idea I had it yet, and I think it was safe to say I wasn't going to bring it up. Torchic hopped up beside my leg, nudging me to pick her up. When I did, she nuzzled herself under my chin again. She had spent the whole night beside me, sleeping outside the blankets. I guess fire pokemon didn't need much to keep them warm. She kept me warm throughout the night. She even helped me wake up. I already loved the tiny pokemon.

"You not excited?" Brendan asked. "There's a whole world out there for you to explore. Pokemon, trainers, everything is ahead of you now." He stepped up to me and pet Torchic, who happily accepted his pets with loud squawks of satisfaction. I watched my pokemon warm up to him.

"I've never been able to prepare," I admitted. I looked at the three exits to the city. "Which way do we go?"

"West," Brendan replied, pointing to the exit between the other two. "South is back to LittleRoot and North is to a route we can't quite cross yet." He took the lead. Torchic jumped from my arms and began to follow him like a baby duck. I sighed and followed at well. When we had left the town, we were fast on the trail speckled with trainers and patches of tall grass. Right when I crossed in front of a bug catcher, he grabbed my arm.

"Battle!" he shouted a little too loudly. Then he released me and threw out two pokeballs. There were two wurmple in them. The pokemon hopped up and down in anticipation. Before I could even call out Torchic, she was there, looking determined as ever. "Are you going to send out another pokemon?" the boy asked.

"U-um… Torchic is all I have." He laughed at me.

"Than I guess this battle will be quick!" He pointed at my starter pokemon. "Both of you! String shot!" As soon as the wurmple started recoiling to prepare themselves, my instinct after years of playing pokemon video games finally kicked in.

"Burn them with ember!" I shouted. Torchic chirped and took a deep breath in. As soon as her sides had extended nearly twice her side, she exhaled plumes of fire. The wurmples had just fired their string shots when the flames consumed and stopped them. It traveled right up the strings of both of them. Before they could think to cut it off, the two pokemon were consumed in flames. They lasted about three seconds before falling to the ground.

"What?!" the bug catcher shouted. "You one-hit both my pokemon at the same time?!" Brendan slapped me on the back again.

"Great job! Usually ember only strikes one pokemon, but when your torchic set the string on fire, you managed to fry both!" Brendan laughed loudly. "Congrats on your first win!" The bug catcher heard him and scratched behind his head.

"Y-yeah… I guess so." He approached me and held out some poke dollars in his hand. "Here you go. I heard that was your first battle?" I gently took the money from him and stuffed it in my wallet.

"Yeah, I'm pretty new." The boy smiled.

"Don't worry. With a pokemon like that, there's no way you can lose." He picked up his wurmple and held them close. "Good luck on your adventure. I'm going to the pokemon center." Then he left, leaving me with Brendan once again.

"You know, he had a point," he said.

"About what?"

"You only have one pokemon. You should probably catch another." I stared at him, then down at torchic.

"Torc torc!" she agreed happily. I laughed nervously.

"I don't have any pokeballs," I admitted.

"Don't worry, I have plenty." He handed me a good handful or two of regular pokeballs. I put them in my jacket pocket. I didn't want to open my bag with the blade exposed. "C'mon over here. The best pokemon are in this patch." I followed him past some tall grass and through a few trainers, all of which I battled and won. By the time we actually reached his particular patch of grass, the whole route was deprived of people except us. They had all gone to Odale to heal their pokemon.

"What's so special about this patch of grass?" I asked before he stepped into it. When he disappeared inside, he answered.

"There's some rare pokemon in here!" I shuddered. The memory about being attacked yesterday was still fresh in my mind. Was it really already time for me to catch my own pokemon? Whether or not I believed it, I shook off my fear, looked to Torchic, and entered the brush.

Big mistake. As soon as I stepped foot in the first patch of grass, each and every pokemon started howling and barking. I tried to step out, but I was already swarmed by two zigzagoon. This time, Torchic didn't need my permission to attack. She set them both on fire, nearly singing me in the process. As soon as they had taken on enough damage and retreated back into the grass, another pokemon came forward. It was quick and nimble; it latched onto my face before I could figure out which pokemon it was.

I fell backwards out of the grass and onto the Earth, where the pokemon jumped off and landed a few feet away. He didn't look angry at all. The ralts instead looked determined, powerful, and ready to battle. He hadn't attacked me to be mean; he wanted a challenge.

"Wow, you found another pokemon that likes you!" Brendan clapped. "Good job! Now challenge it!" I blinked at him. This ralts? It liked me? I met eyes with the tiny creature. It smiled at me and raised its' fists in challenge.

I got to my feet and dusted myself off. I pointed to him and shouted, "Torchic! Ember!" My starter did as told, but the ralts was quicker. He jumped out of the way, did a handstand, then landed on a rock a few feet away. He used screech again. I covered my ears and shouted, "Forget ember, Torchic! Use tackle instead!" As soon as the psychic pokemon had finished with his wailing, he bent slightly over his knees, panting hard. "Now!"

My pokemon launched forward and hit the wilke pokemon with a critical hit. The ralts flew backwards, too tired to even try and counter strike. I reached into my pocket and pulled out an empty pokeball. As soon as ralts hit the grass, I threw it. The aim was dead-on. I hit the pokemon and he went right inside the ball. There was one shake and I had caught him. A critical capture on my first try. I got so excited I jumped, threw my fist in the air, and shouted, "Hell yeah!"

Brendan laughed. He walked over to the pokeball and lifted it, examining it.

"Not even a struggle. This ralts wanted to be captured by you, no doubt." I paused.

"Did… did it really?" I whispered.

"Torc! Chic! Chic!" My starter was just as excited as I was. She trotted over to Brendan, took the ball in her beak, then ran back to me and gently placed it by my shoes. I lifted it up and nearly screamed when ralts released himself. When he had materialized, he smiled. I kneeled down to his height.

"You're… you're not afraid of me?" I asked. He shook his head. "You're not going to attack me?" He shook his head again. "You… do you really want to be a part of my team?"

"Ralts!" He confirmed, throwing his fist into the air like I had done. I couldn't help it. I dropped to my butt and hugged him. He hugged me back. He wasn't near as warm as Torchic, but it was a close second. Brendan stepped up to us and knelt beside me. His face turned worried.

"Are you… are you crying?" I sniffled at his words.

"N… no. I'm fine." But tears started streaming down my cheeks. I smiled and coughed over a sob. "I'm just… just so happy." Ralts hugged me tighter. Torchic joined in, snuggling herself under my arm until she was in my arms as well. I sniffled again. "You two are the best, you know that?" Both my pokemon huddled closer.

"Oh, brother. You're such a crybaby," Brendan teased. He leaned down and met my gaze. "You need to stop being so sad, Mew. Everything that happened before is behind you. You have your own pokemon now. Everything will be ok." His words only made me cry harder.

"Th-thank you, Brendan." Tears started streaming down my face harder. "You're my first real friend, you know?" He smiled and ruffled my hair.

"And I definitely won't be the last." He hugged onto me. My pokemon nuzzled up to him just as much as they were to me.

I didn't understand it. If I wasn't supposed to trust Brendan, then why did I feel so comfortable around him? It wasn't the same kind of comfortable I had felt around Steven, but it was just as strong. Was this what having a friend was like? Now I was beginning to hope it was.

"What are you going to name them?" he asked. I stopped sobbing to rub my eyes.

"I don't know where to start, to be honest." I opened my mouth to say more, but a startled scream interrupted me. We turned to our right, where the entrance to Petalburg city was. When I looked closer, I saw plumes of smoke rising towards the sky.

Something was on fire in Petalburg.

I got to my feet. "Ralts, return!" The confused pokemon did as told. Torchic stared up at me, blinking in question. "Brendan, get out your mudkip." He looked from me to the plumes of smoke in the distance. His mudkip was out of the ball within seconds of his epiphany. I grabbed his wrist and started running. He didn't need me to lead him, he was much stronger and faster than I was. In fact, by the time I had caught up to him in the city, he was already working on dousing the flames.

I nearly cried again. Because the Petalburg gym, where dad had arrived today, had caught on fire.

Mew caught Ralts!

Would you like to save the game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Continue?


	4. Wally: Weak Body, Powerful Soul!

Chapter 4

"Mew!" I jumped in surprise when my dad ran up to me and embraced me. "Thank god you're here! I thought you had already gone inside to see me."

"I just got here," I explained. "What happened?"

"A bunch of goons came marching into the gym asking for people to join them. I didn't quite catch what they are all about, but they were so pushy. Some of my trainers asked them to leave and they got so angry that one of them have their pokemon start a fire inside. We couldn't contain it."

"Is everyone out?" Officer Jenny was going through the crowd, talking to everyone she passed and taking notes.

"My baby!" A young woman was trying to get into the front of the gym, but a man about her age was holding her back. She tugged one last time and broke free of his grip. Yet as soon as she was able to reach the front door, the arches holding the roof up collapsed and shattered into dozens of fiery sparks. Brendan's mudkip doused the flames before they could reach her. She dropped to her knees and began sobbing.

I ran over to her, ignoring the surprised look on my dads face. I approached her and she immediately grabbed onto me so she could look straight into my eyes. Her face was wildly puffy red from the crying.

"You have to help me!" Her voice was shrill with fear. "My boy, my Wally, he went in earlier today to try and talk to the gym leader. He didn't come home earlier so we came out here and... and... he isn't out here! I can't find him anywhere!" She released me and buried her face in her hands, where she started choking on her sobs.

Torchic approached me slowly. She could sense my depression. She pecked gently at my feet. She was about to hop up into my arms when I darted away straight towards the gym. I had moved so quickly that my pokemon lost sight of me for a good couple seconds. Right as I found myself at the entrance to the gym, my dad caught sight of me. His face exploded red and his veins protruded thickly from his skin.

"MEW! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?!" I heard him shout. I looked back at him, a determined expression on my face. He pointed a finger at me and hollered, "DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING WHAT YOU'RE THINKING!" Regardless of the punishment I was about to receive, I turned and crawled inside. The bamboo beams that had collapsed were far enough apart for me to fit through, but my clothes brushed them and nearly caught fire. I tucked in my shirt tightly into my jeans and pressed forward. I heard my dad shouting from the entrance, but when I looked back another beam fell and my exit was blocked.

No turning back now, I told myself anxiously. I got back on my path and continued deeper and deeper into the fire. Luckily for me, the further back we went, the less flames there were. There was twice as much smoke, however. My lungs burned and my chest throbbed, but I continued forward. I tore off a piece of my shirt, revealing my stomach, and covered my nose and mouth.

"Wally!" I shouted, lifting the cloth so it carried better. "Wally, where are you?!"

A wet coughing answered me. It came from behind a door that had been already punched through by a larger character, leaving behind a human-shaped hole. I eased through it and found myself in a room that had been fully consumed by smoke. I had to drop to my hands and knees to be able to see. The wet coughing came again, this time with mangled words strung into it. I followed it further.

The coughs came from behind a door that was sealed shut. On it read "To proceed, please defeat Ace Trainer Blaine!" I cursed. The iron on the door kept me from entering the next room, where I could hear the voice of a young teenager shout.

"H-h-help! P-please!" I grabbed at the rim of the door and tried to pry it open, but there was no such luck. I dropped back to the floor, coughing up thick wads of spit. I was so preoccupied by my hacking that I didn't notice that Ralts had escaped from his pokeball and was patting me on the back.

I grabbed his ball and pointed it at him, but he refused to return.

"Get out, Ralts," I coughed. "You have your whole life ahead of you. Don't stay here because of me!"

"Ralts," he replied curtly, pushing past me. He stood in front of the door, opened his arms wide and began humming. I watched through watering eyes as the door began to glow. A click sounded in the distance. The door pried itself open so quickly that it slammed into the wall and created a hole. I pushed the door out of my way and crawled through the hole, barely able to follow ralts as he traveled into the next room.

There, lying on the ground was a boy with soft green hair. His clothes were tattered and covered in ashes. When he heard me coming, he lifted his head and met my eyes. His deep blue gaze was distant.

"Am I…" he whispered. "Am I dying?" I shook my head and crawled towards him. I pulled him into my grasp and covered his mouth with the cloth I held in my hand. He took it from my and covered it himself. I lifted him into my arms. He was a small and frail boy. If he lost any more weight, there would be no doubt the boy would be nothing but a skeleton. He hugged onto me with his other arm and squeeze tightly. For such a small and weak-looking boy, his grip confirmed that he was fighting to live.

"You're not going to die," I comforted. "I'm here to save you." I stood, shaky on my legs, and started walking towards the back of the gym. The only thing separating us from the outside was a wide glass window. Ralts ran up to my side and nudged me. "We're going to break it," I translated to Wally. "We're going to break it and get out of here." The boy only coughed in reply.

My knees were weak and my vision was fading fast. But nothing could've stopped me from darting forward at the speed of sound and shattering that window. Before I hit it, I turned and let the glass hit my back instead of the boy. I felt thick tendrils of blood running down my spine, but I grew numb to the pain. We were flung straight out of the gym and into the pond directly behind it, where we splashed and fell deeper and deeper into the bitter cold depths.

I reached towards the surface of the water. If it was solid, I would grab it and hoist us to safety. But I was too weak. The water turned pink with my blood. I held Wally closer and buried my face in his hair.

"Don't cry," I whispered into the water. "You're safe with me…" Then I faded into unconsciousness.

"Please," I heard someone shout in the far distance. "She's my sunshine! She's my only sunshine! Don't let her die!" It was my dad. He was somewhere in this dark oblivion I had found myself in. I tried to open my eyes, to move my mouth, but the darkness pressed on me, keeping me in place. "She's only sixteen! She just got her first pokemon! Please, you can't let her die!"

"I'm not dead," I whispered so quietly that I could barely hear myself. "I'm ok. I'm alive." My heart started to slow. My vision faltered again. I began to feel comforted as the darkness consumed me, and as it did, my life began to pass through my mind.

I was born a weak child and ridiculed for the color of my hair and eyes. I had no friends, no pokemon, just my family to call my own. I couldn't go outside much because of how afraid I was pokemon would attack me. I spent the majority of the first half of my life in my room playing pokemon video games, which I finished all of them one-hundred percent all the way through. I had never had any real friends or acquaintances for that matter. People avoided me and pokemon endlessly attacked me. It was like there was no where for me to turn but under my covers into the sanctity of sleep. Was that what I was feeling now?

Then I thought about the day before. Brendan had met me willingly. In all honesty, he's the only person I can hope to one day call my best friend. Then my mind went to Steven. What would someone like him think if I died the day after he had entrusted me with a feather from his skarmory, which I knew took years to grow? What would he do if he never saw me again?

The thought was too much to think about. I had told myself in my sleep that there was no such thing as love at first sight. But for some reason, I felt myself drawn towards him. Towards my soon-to-be friend Brendan. And to my torchic and ralts, who were already doing so much for me.

"No," I whispered, "please. I have so much to live for."

A light pierced the darkness above me. I opened my eyes, just barely, to be able to see it. It was still dark, the realm was still cold, but the light was eliminating it. Warm light flooded my body with strength. It healed my pain and gave me power. I was shaking, still so very fragile, but I reached towards it. I had seen this light before. It had healed me.

"T…" I whispered. "Tor… Torchic…?"

"Eve." The lights' voice was soft. "My name is Eve."

"Am I… am I dying?"

"No." She paused. "Not quite yet."

"Why…?" I whispered. "I thought… I thought that I was dead."

"You have a destiny to fulfill." The light began to consume the whole oblivion, bleaching it white. "Do not disappoint me, Mew."

I opened my eyes. Torchic was sitting on my chest, staring down at me with dismayed eyes. As soon as our gazes met, she let out a series of loud chirps. She cuddled up to me, eyes wet with concern. I reached up and put my hand on her back.

"I'm ok," I whispered to her. She shuddered and nestled closer.

"Did that pokemon make a noise?" a voice asked from outside the room. I turned to my left. I was lying on a bed that was usually occupied by larger pokemon. The room I was in was empty except for Torchic.

"I heard it chirp, too." another voice confirmed. Before I knew it someone kicked the door in. It was Brendan.

"Mew!" he shouted, racing forward and lifting me up in his arms. "Thank goodness! She's ok!" Several more footsteps followed behind him. Dad and Officer Jenny stepped into the room. Dad had obviously been crying but his face was dry and scratched, as if he had used some rough fabric to wipe his tears away. He saw me and yanked me out of Brendan's grip. He held onto me tightly and masked his sob with a cough. My ribs begin to bend from under his grip.

"You damn idiot!" he shouted. "You could have been killed! You could have died and I wouldn't have seen you become the trainer you've always wanted to be!" He pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine. "Don't you ever do anything like that again! You hear me?! Next time it happens, I'll kill you myself!"

"To think you just got out of a bad fight with some poochyena," Officer Jenny said in disbelief, putting a hand on her forehead. "Mew, you've gone completely crazy."

I sat up in my bed, delicately pushing Dad away. My clothes were soaked and dripping in wet ashes. I was still in the jeans that I had put on the day before, but my shirt had been removed and replaced by several layers of heavy bandages that desperately needed to be changed. I could feel blood soaking through them and dripping onto the table.

"Oh my," Officer Jenny said as soon as she noticed. "Nurse Joy! We need your help!" The doctor herself pushed past Dad and Brendan to get to me. She saw the condition my back was in and gaped.

"Both of you boys, out! Out! She needs to get changed!" The two of them looked to each other before doing as told. As soon as they left, Officer Jenny closed the door. "Mew, lie down on your stomach but keep your chest off the table. I need to unwrap the old bandages and put on new ones."

It hurt to move, but I managed to flip over and prop myself up on my elbows. Nurse Joy cut a random patch of bandage and began unwrapping them. It felt gross to feel her peel the blood-soaked wrappings from off my skin, but I closed my eyes and managed to picture other things. It was when she was about done that I heard Officer Jenny gasp.

"Sweet Arceus! Where is it?!" she whispered. I didn't move. The fear of what could possibly wrong with my back now weighed me down like a stone. I closed my eyes and started praying.

"The scars… they're completely healed!" Nurse Joy was in disbelief. I stopped praying.

"What?" I asked, turning back to them. With a shaky hand, Nurse Joy thumbed through a drawer and pulled out a hand mirror. She held it behind my back to where I could see it. Officer Jenny took it from her when she saw that I couldn't see with her quivering fingers.

There was not a sign of scarring, blood, or wounds on my back. Instead there was new pink flesh where the scars once were. It was flawlessly healed and devoid of any sort of marking such as freckles or hair. The only marking was the stripes of wet blood that that bandages had left behind. Officer Jenny quietly dabbed at those areas. As soon as my back was clean, she stared at it closer. Still no sign of wounds.

"Did you have one of your pokemon heal you?" she asked. I shook my head.

"None of my pokemon know any healing moves." The two of them exchanged glances. "I'm not lying, trust me." Right then, Ralts emerged from his pokeball and jumped up beside Torchic. The two of them sat down, ready for any questions should Officer Jenny ask. She looked over the two of them and quickly deducted that was not what happened.

"I guess… you're free to go." I turned to look at Nurse Joy.

"Are you sure?" She nodded.

"There's nothing else left to do. I'll get you a new shirt." She walked robotically out of the room before coming back a few minutes later with a shirt that depicted the traditional pokemon center logo. I slipped it on and stood up. It was a little big for me, but I didn't mind. Nurse Joy opened the door for me, nodding politely. I could tell she was freaked out of her mind, but I refused to acknowledge it. I gestured for my pokemon to follow me. The jumped off the counter and gathered at my feet, looking back once before walking out of the room. I followed them.

Out in the lobby was Brendan and Dad. They got up to greet me.

"How long do you have to stay?" Brendan asked.

"I don't. They said I was free to go." The two of them froze. "Y-yeah. They said that the wounds were minor and that it would heal better if I kept active." Brendans' eyes shone for but a second. When I tried to see what had made them thus he turned to my father and explained, "I'm sure the majority of the wound was cleaned up when she hit the water anyway."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Dad ruffled my hair, sure to keep away from my back. A thought struck him. He leaned down and picked up a plastic bag that had several items that mom had obviously packed. Clothes, tools, food, and other items were visible. I took it from him and started unzipping my bag. "Rub some salt on it, ya hear? I got to get to picking up what's left of the gym." Then he turned and walked out of the pokecenter. He didn't seem near as disturbed as Nurse Joy had.

"Your dad cried," Brendan said. "The whole while you were gone, that was all he did." I chuckled.

"That's just like Dad," I admitted. "Be tough whenever I'm around and cry like a baby whenever I'm not." We both shared a laugh. A thought struck me suddenly. "What happened to that kid? Wally was it?"

"You saved his life," Brendan said. "C'mon. His parents are expecting us at their house." I followed him outside. The Petalburg gym wasn't even standing anymore. All that left was a soaked mess of soggy ashes and the occasional chunk of rubble. Several people were talking to some officials who wrote down what they said. There were a few parts of the building still burning so a few pokemon trainers with water pokemon were dowsing it.

As soon as we passed right by it, Brendan and I stopped at a house that didn't look to different from my own. Without knocking, my rival stepped inside and shouted his arrival. As soon as he finished, the couple from before emerged from a door down the hall.

"It's you," they said in unison. Then the woman spoke on her own.

"We want to thank you for saving our boy. Without you, he would have died." She gestured for me to follow her. I looked at Brendan. He nodded at me and urged me forward. He stayed in the front hallway as I entered the room that the couple had disappeared back into. Inside was the boy I had rescued, lying belly up on a bed that was so soft that it almost swallowed him whole. He was hooked up to a machine that was feeding air into his lungs. The sight broke my heart.

"Hey, Mew," he greeted. "Brendan told me that was your name. I really like it."

"Thanks," I said quietly. "Are you… are you going to be ok?" He tilted his head, confused. Then epiphany struck him.

"Oh, this?" He held up the plastic tubes for me to see. "I was wearing these before the fire. I have pretty weak lungs." He laughed a little bit before going into a coughing fit. His mom walked over behind him and gently began rubbing his back. As soon as he finished, he turned to me and smiled wider. "The coughing is good. It means my body is cleaning out the smoke."

"That's great." I relaxed my shoulders. Back in the gym I noticed he was weak. I thought it was just from the fire, but knowing that he was naturally eased my mind a bit. Just a little. "I'm glad to see you're doing better."

"We're going to send him to his aunt in Verdanturf Town to help his lungs a little bit. The air there is so pure and fresh, he'll have no choice but to get better." His father sounded hopeful. There was something else in his voice that make me question if that hope was genuine or not. Wally was frail and young. Could he be gravely ill? "His aunt is coming tomorrow."

"Can you see me off, Mew?" he asked, excitedly. I leaned down to his height and ruffled his hair.

"Sorry, Wally. But I have to leave today." The look of sadness on his face was heart breaking. "But as soon as you get there, I'll come to see you. How does that sound?" His face lit up.

"That sounds amazing!" He reached under the sheets and pulled out a pokeball. "This morning while you were in the pokecenter, I went out and caught a pokemon just like yours! My ralts is a girl though." I smiled. This boy was so full of life and energy. It was hard to believe he had nearly died only a few hours ago.

"That's great, Wally," I praised. "And as soon as I get to Verdanturf town, we will have our two ralts battle. How does that sound?" He started jumping up and down. The tubes whipped around the room. His parents had to calm him down before he was able to reply.

"I'll train as hard as I can." He paused to take a breath. "I'll train then I'll beat you! I'll become the champion one day, I swear!" I smiled.

"There's no doubt that there's a chance for you to become the champion." I pat him on the head. "I have to get going, but I'll no doubt visit often." The parents nodded in unison.

"We would love that. Thank you again, Mew." His mom looked me dead in the eyes and sniffled. "Thank you so much."

"Anything for a wonderful family like yours." The dad opened the door for me and I stepped out. They led me to the front door, where Brendan was sitting on the grass outside, staring up at the bright blue sky. When he heard the door open, he stood and pat me on the back when I took to his side.

"Get yer fill of the little guy?" he asked.

"Not near as much as I want to." I waved at the parents. They waved back before returning inside and shutting the door behind them. I put my hand down slowly. "Hey."

"Yeah, Mew?" Brendan asked stepping out of the yard and back on the path. I followed, refusing to look away from the house. I sighed.

"Do you think that Wally will be a good Pokemon trainer?" Brendan laughed loudly.

"Of course he will. He ain't dying tomorrow." He slapped me on the back, urging me out of the city and onto the next route. "Relax. The kid will be just fine. Who knows? Maybe he will become the Hoenn League Champion one day." I turned away from Petalburg and towards the quick-approaching sea.

"Yeah. Maybe one day when he gets older." Brendan began off down the trail. I followed.

I had almost died that day. I would've let myself, too. If I hadn't my parents to love me, Brendan to guide me, Torchic to protect me, and Steven…? My face blushed at the thought. I guess I'd just have to figure that one out on my own!

Mew Became Burned!

Use Burn Heal?

[YES] NO

Mew Became Healthy!

Save The Game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Continue?


	5. Ocean or Land? These Guys are Idiots!

Chapter 4

The battles on route 104 were hard, especially on my ralts. He fainted for the first time against a zigzagoon. Luckily Petalburg was not a far backtrack away, or else he would've been in pain the whole while. I had Torchic, who I decided to name Eve after my experience in the pokecenter, fight for the remainder of the battles. Though my ralts, now named Plum, was weaker, he still fought bravely. By the time we were off the shore into the woods, Eve was level twelve and ralts was level eight. Brendans' mudkip was still going strong and was about two levels higher than my torchic, but he hadn't caught any other pokemon.

The woods were uncanningly dark and even more so creepy. I stepped on three wurmples and a silcoon before a young bug catcher handed us a max repel. While Brendan was busy battling him, I wrapped the blade Steven had given me in the excess of silcoons cocoon. I managed to fit it in my bag with a coat of silcoon silk around it and zip it up before Brendan came back to me with his winnings.

"There's more trainers up ahead," he said, still oblivious that I was keeping such a deadly weapon in my bag. "Can you battle the last few? My mudkip is getting tired."

"Sure." I reached onto my belt where I kept my pokeballs and sent out Plum. He looked up to me and moaned. "I know, I know. You're really tired. But Torchic needs your help. We'll do double battles to hurry it up." Ralts crossed his arms and mumbled under his breath. Eve, who was curiously sniffing at a bush nearby, joined in by nudging him. It was encouraging to see the two of them getting along. I don't know what I'd do if they didn't get along. I couldn't picture myself mothering two bickering pokemon.

"Hey, you two!" A pair of oddly dressed goons stepped out from the bush that Eve had currently sniffed. The one on the right was a girl who wore a midriff shirt and a mini skirt in the same reddish-brown colors. Imprinted on the half jacket she wore was a black symbol that looked like the Omega symbol with some mountains added on top. Her hood had some poorly sewn horns on them. The guy to the left had the similar hoodie but had pants instead of a skirt. Their heavily-worn down shoes were covered in dirt and spurs. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Trying to get to Rustboro city," Brendan answered, stepping up to my side. I felt an air of hostility pulse from him. He already didn't trust these two. And judging by how close he was inching towards me, it wasn't everyday hostility. "Who are you two?"

The girl was smacking loudly on a piece of gum. She adjusted her weight to her left leg and blew a bubble. It popped, covering a fourth of her face before she sucked it back in and began to speak.

"We're the boss of you two, that's who we are." Brendan slipped him hand in mine. I would've considered it romantic until he urged me behind him. I did as instructed. "Don't act so heroic kid. You've got a mudkip. That thing couldn't get itself out of a wet paper bag."

"Kip!" his pokemon protested. The goon leaned down to mock scold the water type and instead got a face full of water. She fell backwards and into the bush. Not two seconds after her butt touched the ground, she screamed and flung herself forward. Protruding from her lower spine was a seedot. The top of his head had been abnormally sharpened and stuck in the thick skirt fabric. From the looks of how much of the seedot's head was sticking out, it hadn't even pierced her skin.

"Ow!" she squealed. "Get it out! Quick, before it lays eggs!" She reached back and tried to pull the grass pokemon from her back, but the Seedot dislodged himself. He landed nimbly on the ground. He started hopping away, but the goon grabbed him and lifted him up into her arms. He kicked with his tiny feet to try and free himself, but before he could do so she threw him into the dirt, where he landed on his face. She kicked him right in the eye and he went flying across the across and right into Brendan.

"How could you?!" he shouted. I pushed past him and picked the seedot up into my arms, running my finger across his eye. Blood started dripping from the side with a hint of a tear in it. I kneeled down and began to unpack the medical kit that mom had packed. While I worked at his eye while Brendan started tearing into the two goons. "Why would you do such a thing to an innocent pokemon?!"

"There'll be plenty of those things as soon as we have more land." I started applying pressure to the seedots' eye.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. The male goon had been sitting by observing us with narrowed eyes the whole while. When I spoke, he stepped forward and helped the girl to his feet.

"We're Team Magma. We're trying to expand the land in an attempt to help people and pokemon have more room to live." Brendans' shoulders tensed. "We'll leave a little water though. Worthless pokemon like yours need a good puddle to live in."

"You shut up!" Brendan stepped forward once. I had just finished wrapping up the seedot with a bandage eyepatch. I opened my bag, removed my jacket, and lined it out on one of the smaller pockets in my bag. I settled the seedot inside, where he nestled deeper, humming. He blinked at me (or winked?) with his one eye in gratitude.

"Think you're so tough, little guy?" The magma grunt stepped forward and took a pokeball from his sleeve. "Why don't you both battle me? I'll take on both of you newbies. Winner gets to walk away without being beaten to a pulp. How does that sound?" Brendan took a moment to think.

"I'll battle you. The both of you. Unload all your pokemon." They both raised their eyebrows.

"Brendan, calm down." I put my hand on his shoulder. "They're crazy, they don't know what they're talking about." I felt the muscles in his shoulder contract and relax repeatedly. I gently pulled my hand away. "Brendan?" I walked around him but he threw his arm out to the side. He glanced at me sideways. I stepped back at the sight.

His eyes were no longer blue. They were a deep and ominous red. When he sensed my fear, he looked away.

"Don't tempt me, Mew. This isn't your fight."

"What are you talking-"

"Don't!" His voice was suddenly loud. The wingulls in the trees scattered. I backed away slowly. Plum was cowering at my legs, so I quickly brought him back into his pokeball. I latched his ball next to Eve's. I held it out to her, but she just stared at it, then to me with an expression that said, "Get that thing the hell away from me."

"Right," I whispered, putting it back. "Brendan, I don't want you to fight alone-"

"I'll be fine," he said in a much softer voice. "Trust me. I'm an experienced trainer." He stopped the sentence a little too quickly. I tilted my head.

"How experienced?" He pivoted his head towards me to smile wide. His teeth were oddly bright.

"Well experienced." He tapped my knee with the back of his hand. "I'll be fine. Get to Rustboro. I'll meet you there." Eve jumped up into my arms and nudged the underside of my chin.

"Don't lose," I said under my breath. I ran past him and through the Team Magma grunts. The trainers that had been on the path before were gone, leaving a clear opening for escape. I looked back right as the light of outside enveloped me. I wasn't able to see clearly, but one of the two grunts had unleashed a giant pokemon. Just the mere size of it, brushing the underside of the tallest trees, scared me enough to run and not turn back.

The light was so blinding that the first few steps out of the forest were completely white. I didn't know where I was until the light cleared and I opened my eyes. Across a medium-sized lake and reflected in the water was the great town of Rustboro. If it were a little less wet and puddles weren't spotting the area, there'd be a herd of tumbleweeds rolling across it. Because it was dead empty. No trainers, no pokemon, no nothing. Just a newer-looking building with a gaudy amount of pink paint and kindergarten-level flowers painted on the sides.

Eve jumped down from my arms and started sniffing the ground.

"You're more like a poochyena than a torchic when you do that, you know," I observed. Eve spread her legs and fanned her wings, chirping in protest. "Alright, I won't compare you to those things anymore. I don't like them as much as you do."

"Tor," she urged. She started hopping towards the flower shop.

"Wait, we're supposed to go to Rustboro first." My starter pokemon ignored me and pecked the door in, which hadn't been closed all the way. I rolled my eyes and followed her. As soon as the door began creaking closed I opened it again. "Eve, I don't even know what this place-" I froze.

The whole room was filled with people. Not just any people, but the trainers from the forest, around the lake, and even the people who worked in the obvious flower shop were in there. They were also bound by their hands and ankles with rags tied across their mouths. Eve was tearing at one of the ties on a little girls' feet. I stood there for about five minutes before I was able to fully process what was going on.

"Um." I took a moment to think again. "I'll, uh… start untying you guys." I bent over and started undoing the headband that had kept one of the younger shop owners. As soon as she could talk, she started speaking really fast. So fast that if it was recorded and played it back on slow motion then there was a small chance you could understand it. A very small chance. "Stop, stop, stop. You're going too fast." I started to undo her hands.

"He's coming back," she said. It was still a little fast, but decodable. "That dude from Team Whatchamacallit. Him and his girlfriend. They said they'll be back."

"No, my friend has them under control. They're battling him right now." Eve squaled from behind.

"Oh?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that why they're standing right behind you?" I stopped undoing the knot on her ankles. I felt the cold backside of a knife press against the nape of my neck.

"Stand up." I did as told. I held up my hands as an added matter, but whoever had the weapon didn't like it. They slapped them down and said, "What are you, a bank teller? Quit being a wimp and look at me." I did as told.

Ok so these weren't the guys that Brendan was taking on in the forest. These goons were wearing similar outfits, but they had an alpha sign made out of bones on an outfit that was blue instead of dark red. Not only that, but the gum-smacking hipster was the boy and the quiet and sulky one was the girl. The boy held the gun to the bottom of my throat.

"You one of the cops?" he asked.

"To be honest," I started, "I'm only here because my idiot pokemon thought it was a good idea to smell some flowers."

"Torchic!" she retorted from the arms of the girl.

"And no," I continued, ignoring her, "I'm not a cop. I already got stopped by your other two comrades in the forest."

"Other two?" the boy asked, popping his bubble to say it. The two of them exchanged glances. Two seconds later and they both bolted out the door, leaving Eve and me unscathed. Again, I stood there, utterly confused. Unsure of how to react, I just began to untie the rest of them.

"You reacted pretty well for having a knife at your throat," the same flower girl said. "I give you kudos. You around knives often?"

"No," I said, "just a bunch of pokemon that try to kill me." We both stood up. She began rubbing her wrists.

"And your have your own?"

"It's a long story. Why are you here?" She licked her lips. "Slowly, if you could." She rolled her eyes.

"Those two dressed in blue came into the flower shop trying to recruit us for some 'Expand the ocean, save the critters of the sea' sort of campaign. When we turned them down they started brought in all the trainers, who had obviously already declined and brought them in here. With a knife at our throats, they tied us up. They left to 'recruit' others and then you showed up." Again, she talked rather fast, but I was able to understand.

"Expand the sea?" I questioned. She nodded.

"You sure it wasn't 'expand the land, kill all the water pokemon?'" She looked at me a littler closer, as if she was trying to tell if I was joking or not. "Ok, I heard you right. Is there anything else I can do?"

"Yeah, take this." She put three oran berries in my hand. "The seedot in your backpack doesn't look to well." I heard him humming at the smell at the berries. I reached back and let him eat the whole handful of the berries, leaving blood-colored stains on my hand. He squealed in joy, suddenly energized.

"Thank you. What's your name?" She smiled.

"Azealanthelum," was what I heard. I'm pretty sure it wasn't her actual name.

"I'll call you Izzy." She gave me that same look when I asked her about what the goons had said.

The door burst inwards. Eve, who finally finished untying the last of the trainers squawked and jumped out of the way. Three police officers stepped into the room with each of their pokemon at their ankles. A zigzagoon and two wurmple. Not the strongest squad, but enough to make me flinch.

When they saw me, they relaxed. "Hey, it's the girl from the Petalburg fire," the one on the left said. "Did you… did you defeat Team Aqua?" My mouth made an O shape. The two in the blue weren't on Team Magma. They were Team Aqua, who I had never heard of, but the name made complete sense.

"No," I admitted. "I told them that Team Magma was in the woods and they went running."

"Team Magma?" The cop in the center said it slowly, emphasizing every consonant. I nodded just as slow as he had spoken. "And you let them go after them?"

"Officers," came a voice from outside the door. They looked behind them. I inched up from the back and peeked from over their shoulders. Brendan was carrying two goons on each shoulder, two Aqua on his left and two Magma on his right. He dropped them more than carelessly on the ground. "Here are the culprits of the kidnapping. Well," he corrected himself, pointing to the two Aqua grunts, "those are the kidnappers. The other two had this on them." He handed the cop in the center a piece of paper. "It's a written confession about them burning the Petalburg gym down. You can find their signatures at the bottom."

I stepped out of the berry shop and met eyes with Brendan. His eyes were blue once again and the calm demeanor I knew him for was back. The police began to apprehend the suspects when I approached him.

"You defeated all four of them?" I asked in complete disbelief. He chuckled, proud of himself.

"Yeah. One of them didn't battle me though. He got too scared."

"Of your mudkip?" He smirked.

"I guess you could say mudkip." He threw out his pokeball and a marshtomp emerged, belching in greeting. "He evolved during the last battle, so I wasn't able to completely devastate them." He laughed with a hand on his stomach. I guess Brendan was a sore winner.

"Thank you kids for the help," the last cop said while placing handcuffs on the last of the grunts. "Did you need an escort to the city?" I was about to turn it down. All we had to do was walk across a bridge and we would be there, but Brendan accepted before I could speak. I guess it was only polite.

"Hey, Mew." Brendan lifted the seedot from my bag. "I think you have a new fan." He handed me the grass pokemon, which started humming loudly in my arms. He looked up to me with his one eye and blinked happily. "Looks like you found another teammate. You really get some friends fast, don't you?"

"It didn't use to be like this," I said, cradling the seedot. "All pokemon used to hate me."

"I guess that changed, huh?" He pat me on the back. "C'mon. We got our very own police escort waiting for us." While he helped the police lead one of the grunts, I held a pokeball out to seedot. He tapped it against his head. As soon as he was instead, the ball shook once, then silenced. Critical capture number two.

Seedot Was Kicked!

Critical Hit!

Use Oran Berry (3)?

Seedot Was Fully Healed!

Save Game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Continue?


	6. A Battle for My Badge, or Eve?

Chapter 6

Rustboro was gorgeous. The buildings were all made of stone but carved to perfection. There was no dirt, just a stone slab that the city sat on. Kids were out on the sidewalks drawing with chalk. Pokemon, rock type pokemon especially, were running around bumping heads to prove their worth. Brendan and I had just escorted the policemen to the station when a girl with a puffed out skirt and brunette hair in a wacky hairstyle approached us.

"You two?" We waited for her to say more, but she seemed done with talking.

"Um, I'm Mew." I gestured towards my partner. "This is Brendan. We're from LittleRoot."

"Did you bring in the goons?"

"Yeah-" She snapped her fingers in a flawless Z.

"Shut up and follow me. Mr. Stone wants to see you." My heart started racing. Mr. Stone? Did that mean we were going to see Steven? "He's up in his office. He's been waiting for you two for a while." Then she stalked off towards the largest of the buildings. We watched her go until she pivoted on her heel, glared, and beckoned to us with a finger. We caught up quickly. She took us in the building. It was fancy inside. There were paintings that looked pricy, velvet rugs, and a sitting area with a 70 inch TV to watch the news from. Some people who worked the front desk were sitting in the luxury sofa, drinking cups of coffee.

We were stopped by a different worker, this one who stood up way too straight and took his job way too seriously.

"Identification, please?" his voice was coarse. He acted young, but a closer inspection revealed grey hairs under the pilot-like hat he wore. The girl that led us here dangled a card in front of his face. I tried to take a peek at it and catch her name, but she sheathed it just as quickly as she had presented it. Without waiting for him to decline, she started up the stairs. Brendan was up next so he showed him his Trainer Identification card. The man did not reply. My rival slowly eased his wallet back in his back pocket before quietly following our guide up the stairs. I stood there, defeated. "Identification?" he asked again.

"Um…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't have any identification." He lifted his hat. Now I could see his eyes: frail, brown, old. Yet oddly kind. "I became a pokemon trainer only a few days ago. And I never really registered. I was just… sorta accepted by Steven."

"Steven Stone?" he asked, raising his voice in interest.

"Uh, yeah."

"What's your name?"

"Mew."

"Mew…?"

"Mew…" I didn't want to say it, but he urged me to continue. "Mew Zakuro."

"Your last name is Zakuro?" He smiled. "Have you heard of a show called Tokyo Mew Mew?" I sighed at his subtle chuckles.

"Yeah. It didn't come out till after I was born so my name was sorta cool until then." He covered his mouth to laugh a little louder. "It's a good show, don't get me wrong, but it's weird being known as something completely different."

"I recall young Steven watching it when he was a child." I stopped to stare. "Zakuro was his favorite character, I believe." I blushed. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. For some odd reason, the character Mew Zakuro from Tokyo Mew Mew was depicted on it. I twitched. "He had this made especially for you when he registered you for the pokemon league." He opened up the flat wallet and presented it to me. "Trainer ID, signature, vaccines, history, and everything else is in here."

"H-how did he...?"

"Your father helped him. Gym leaders, elite four, and the champion work hand in hand." I blushed. The thought of Steven getting all my personal information from my father was unnerving. I could almost picture them going through my baby pictures. Was he really doing this much just to get me in the pokemon league? Why go to such lengths to get me this far? And where the hell had he gotten such a wallet? They stopped selling these in 2005. "Are you going to take it, Zakuro?" I snatched it from him, trying to keep my face straight.

"It's Mew," I corrected before going up the stairs. I had to go up three flights of stairs before I reached Brendan, who helped me up the last of the stairs.

"What took you so long?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. If Steven knew my full name, then that was as many people as I could handle. That man was a mystery. A mystery I had to swallow and force myself to not blush at.

Brendan held up his hands, gesturing that he was done with the conversation for my sake. I stepped into the room expecting Steven but was confronted by an older-looking man that had the same green eyes as Steven but were faded lightly. His hair was grey and clipped close to his head. His glasses magnified his eyes to the point of hilarity, but I kept a straight face.

It was Steven's father.

Oh, god. What was I supposed to do now? I was already blushing at the thought of Steven going through my information with Dad, but now there was his father to talk to? I couldn't handle this much stress.

"Mew," he greeted, spreading his hands. "Welcome. You and your friend here have been quite the heroes lately, I've heard." I didn't know how to react, so I just bowed my head. "It's nothing to be ashamed about, my dear. I'm glad you came here to see me." Brendan chuckled. "What?"

"I brought them here," the girl said. She adjusted the neon pink tights on her ankle before adding, "They didn't really chose to."

"Roxanne," Mr. Stone scolded lightly. "You need to work on your attitude." She crossed her arms and tucked her chin into her chest, done with the conversation. "I apologize. Our gym leader is always anxious to battle newcomers so I doubt she would've waited for you to be escorted here by one of my own men." She snorted. So that was the gym leader. Judging by all the rock pokemon in the street, she must have rock pokemon for a team. Eve and Plum wouldn't do any good. I'd have to train my seedot if I wanted to win.

"I see you're as spacey as my son described." I blushed and bowed my head again. Great, now I knew that Steven had talked to his dad about me. Was it good? I really hoped it was good. "Now, now, no need for formalities." He stood up. "Mew, Steven told me you have one of our inventions, a master ball if you will, in your possession. There is also a pokemon inside, as I have heard. A torchic?" Brendan's eyes flashed dangerously. He reached into his pocket.

"Yes, sir." I unlatched the ball from my waist. Eve jumped up onto Mr. Stone's desk, ruffling her feathers like she had just woken from a nap. She turned to the man and tilted her head.

"Ah, such a cute pokemon." He pet the head of Eve. She hummed in delight. "May I see her ball, Mew?"

"Yes, sir." I set it on his desk. He picked it up and observed it. Again, he focused on the broken and resealed hinge on the back. He ran his finger over it gently.

"I see." His eyes focused on Brendan. "You are the son of Professor Birch, right?" Brendan's eyes were darker all of a sudden. He stopped blinking completely.

"Yessir." Mr. Stone stood from his desk. Roxanne suddenly detected the hostility in the room and lifted her head, slowly.

"Can I ask how you procured an item of mine that has not been released to the market yet?"

"You can take that up with my father. I didn't catch the torchic with it. He did." Roxanne reached towards her belt at his words.

"You wouldn't mind a quick debriefing with the police, would you?" Mr. Stone offered. "If you are innocent, I'm sure we can clear you." Brendan's eyes flashed red, then returned blue. He began blinking normally again.

"I would be more than happy to be debriefed, sir." Mr. Stone paused. The room went oddly silent. Eve, disturbed by it, jumped off the desk and into my arms. "I hope you and I share no ill will."

"We will decide that as soon as you are cleared with the police." Brendan bowed his head.

"I understand sir." He pulled his hand from his pocket.

"What do you have in your pocket, son?" Roxanne asked with one eye open. Brendan pulled out his PokeNav.

"Just one of my favorite devices. I'm sure you've heard of it." Roxanne snorted and resumed her pouty position.

"Yes." Mr. Stone adjusted his glasses. "I designed it. Now, follow me. The police station is not far away." He took Brendan by the elbow and led him downstairs. It was absurdly quiet the whole way down. Roxanne and I stayed in the office.

"Your name is Mew, huh?" she asked. "Like the pokemon?"

"Yeah. What are you named after?" I tried to sound friendly, but I was nervous after the whole showdown. My voice cracked mid sentence. She paused.

"You worried about him?"

"Yes."

"The master ball was stolen a while ago by a group of organized thugs." She stepped up to me. "You're from Kanto, so you must know about Team Rocket." She put her weight on her left leg. "Before they disbanded, Giovanni invaded Silph corporation. Silph is a small branch off Devon, owned by Mr. Stone. We told them to begin making the master ball. As soon as it was manufactured, the leader of team rocket took the ball for his own. Ever since then, the master ball has been a myth. Until today, when you showed us that the master ball you have is indeed not a fake. It is the real thing." I took a deep breath.

"You mean…" I looked down at my pokemon. "That Eve is a team rocket minion?" She chirped loudly in protest. A smile spread across my face. "No, you're too much of a sweetheart to be led by someone like Giovanni." She nodded. "But, if Giovanni had it then why did Professor Birch have it?"

"That's what we're figuring out. Not only that, but why he caught a torchic with it and suddenly gave it, almost willingly, to you." She lowered her eyes. "You said you were attacked by pokemon before you came across that torchic right?" I nodded. "And none have attacked you since?"

"Only a few," I admitted.

"Then there is definitely something special about this pokemon." She leaned in towards Eve. "You want to explain?" Eve paused to look at her. For a moment, it was like she was contemplating it. Then she shook her head vigorously, chirping in laughter. I couldn't help but chuckle. Roxanne twitched. "Of course. Why not?"

She stood up straight. "Hey, you need a badge, right?"

"Yeah, why?" She held out a pokeball.

"Battle me." I took a moment to think. "Battle me," she repeated. "I'm the Rustboro city gym leader. You're a challenger. I want to battle you. Not just you, your torchic. I want to battle it, one on one with my nosepass."

"That type advantage isn't quite the fairest," I mumbled.

"Trust me, I know." She took me by the elbow and started leading me down the stairs. "I want to test your skills as a trainer. You saved the Professor, that kid in Petalburg, and a house full of trainers. Not only that but your dad just became a gym leader even though you have an uncanny ability to draw pokemon near to attack you. Also, your starter pokemon is shrouded in mystery, having come in a pokeball that it could've possibly broken while being sealed in it." Now we were outside. She pulled me in the center of the city, where people were already beginning to gather. I guess whenever she made an appearance in public, some mad stuff went down. She pulled me into the town square and released me. She crossed over to her side and held out her pokeball again.

"Mew of Saffron City, I challenge you to a battle. If you win, I'll give you my badge. If you lose, I got your torchic!" The town burst into cheers. They were fist pumping, chest bumping, and all around losing it to what she had just said.

"What?!" I shouted. "No, no, no, no! I don't agree to the terms! I don't!" Eve nudged my feet. When we met eyes, I saw something in her that I had never seen: the will to win. "You… you want to do it?"

"Chic," she confirmed. I let my shoulders sag.

"Are you… are you sure?" She bobbed her head.

"Then…" I face Roxanne. "I accept your challenge, Roxanne of Rustboro city! Prepare yourself!"

Leader Roxanne Would Like To Battle!

Accept Challenge?

[YES] NO

BATTLE START!

To Be Continued…


	7. Mysterious Brendan, Friend or Foe?

Chapter 6

"Eve! Quick attack! Go!"

"Torchic!" she replied, darting forward. Roxanne had just released her pokemon when Eve hit it with a critical hit. The nosepass was knocked backwards and airborne right when he hit the cement.

"I like your style, Mew! Attack when the enemy is weak!" Roxanne spun in a perfect twirl. "I'm getting all fired up! This won't be a battle I'll soon forget! Nosepass, use block!"

"Eve, dodge it!" But it was too late. By the time I had spoken, her pokemons' attack was holding mine firmly in place. Eve's face strained, fighting the power that contained her.

"Gotcha, Mew!" Roxanne laughed loudly. "Your torchic is mine!" I clenched my fists.

"Eve! You have to break the seal!" I didn't know if she could hear me. She was so focused on breaking the block that sweat was consuming her. "Eve, I know you can do it!"

"Nosepass, use rock tomb!" Roxanne's pokemon started slowly edging closer to mine. As soon as he was close enough, he lifted his arms to the sky. Rocks started pulling themselves out of the ground. They slowly started surrounding the torchic. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT, EVE!" Suddenly the whole clearing was filled with light. I held my arms up to try and block it. I had seen this before. No, I had felt it before. My eyes started watering at the brilliance. "I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

The light cleared just as quick as it had been ignited. Standing out in the open while holding nosepass high in the air was my pokemon: a combusken. Without having to be told the combusken threw the nosepass up in the air.

"Eve! Double _kick_!" Right when I said the word, combusken did the work and kicked the nosepass, not twice, not thrice, but five times. One for each eye and three for the nose. The nosepass went sailing so quickly that everyone ducked to avoid being impaled. It struck the side of the police station, leaving a crater the size of a house in its' wake. Alarms started sounding from the inside. Almost every police officer in the city flooded out from it and out into the battlefield. They were utterly confused until they saw it.

A nosepass plastered to the side of the building. It waved its' hand in the air, giving it the momentum it needed to free itself. When it hit the cement Roxanne dropped to her knees. The look on her face was more than astounded: it was complete fear.

"Winner!" called one of the people in the crowd. "Nosepass is unable to battle! Badge and privilege of her pokemon goes to Trainer Mew and her combusken, Eve!" The crowd burst into cheers. I stepped up to Roxanne. She met my eyes and stared.

"That… that pokemon…" She put her hands on the side of her head. "That pokemon is not normal. Don't you see that? Eve is a… a monster."

"She's not a normal pokemon, I agree." I held out my hand to her. "But she's not a monster. As long as we're together, nothing bad will happen." She paused.

"You must make that a promise, Mew Zakuro." I tried not to cringe at my name. "Swear it upon the life of your parents."

"I swear it," I said without hesitation. "The bond Eve and I share is stronger than anything. She is nothing but good. I swear upon the life of my parents as well as my own that Eve and I will change this world for the better, and not the worst." She took my hand and hoisted herself to her feet, shaking it twice before releasing it. She had left the first badge in my palm. "From now on, your my personal favorite." She crossed her arms and turned away. "But if you tell anyone, I'll yell your full name for all to hear."

"Now that is a promise I can keep as well," I said. She smiled.

"You're pretty cool for someone who hasn't been a trainer for very long," she complimented. "You're not half bad as a trainer either."

"Thanks, Roxanne." Her hand stopped me from saying more.

"Call me Roxxy. All my friends do." I nodded.

"Thanks, Roxxy."

"No problem, Zakuro." I twitched.

"Yeah, don't call me that."

"I figured."

"You figured right." She laughed.

"Oh here, take this." She tossed me an HM. "It's the move Cut. You'll need it to get certain places." She took a long look at her nosepass. She returned him to his pokeball. "Come to the pokemon center with me, I'm sure we can heal up the pokemon there. You'll need it before you head north of here. Follow me."

"This again?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"This time it's friendly." She smiled wide. "This time it's as friends, not competitors."

"So... Brendan, is it?"

"Yes, for the fifth time." Brendan's red eyes stared at the old man with burning hatred. "But you can call me Brendan, in case you were going to ask again."

"Shut it." Mr. Stone dropped a stack of papers down on the table. "According to these birth documents, everything you say adds up." Brendan nodded slowly.

"Yes. I recall that when a person is born, they receive something called a 'birth certificate.' When you magically get one of these, your name, printed on it thusly, are kept for the rest of your life."

"You're not Brendan," Mr. Stone interrupted. Brendan sighed and raised his hands in the air.

"Ok, you caught me. I'm not Brendan." Mr. Stone stared at him. The fake pokemon trainer leaned forward to press his forehead against the presidents'. "If you want my name, you'll have to pay up front."

"My son was right about you." Stone leaned forward, right into Brendan's face. "You're part of Team Rocket, aren't you?"

"No. I despise Team Rocket. They were a bunch of fools lead by a demented and evil man."

"Then why did you have the master ball Giovanni supposedly stole years ago?" Brendan smiled crookedly.

"Who said Giovanni didn't steal it? You have the right idea, Giovanni, being the leader of Team Rocket at the time, wanted to catch Mewtwo with it. But as you know, he was defeated at Silph in Saffron city several years ago. When he was defeated, the master ball went missing. That's the truth." He wagged his finger. "I can promise you that."

"So you admit it: you're Giovanni." Brendan leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the table. He began observing his shoes and playing with the laces.

"You don't listen well, do you? I said I hate Team Rocket. They're a bunch of thieves. A bunch of idiots. Giovanni disappeared with them." He studied his hands. "I tried tracking him down myself years ago, but I couldn't find him. The man is a ghost."

"Listen, whoever you are," Mr. Stone said, voice impatient. "You have illegally obtained and used an item which can no longer be replaced. I could send you to prison if I chose to."

"But you won't." Mr. Stone didn't reply. "Ah. You understand now, don't you." Fake Brendan took his feet off the table and put his elbows down instead, tapping his fingers together. "You know nothing about that torchic's abilities. You know nothing about Mew. I know everything. Every last detail. I know why she's named after the pokemon of creation to why pokemon attack her to why that torchic is in a master ball. If you let her continue without me, there's more than a huge chance something could go terribly wrong." He paused. "And by horribly wrong, I mean world-destruction horribly wrong." Mr. Stone focused on the table, stuck in his thoughts.

"She is an experiment to you, then?" he whispered. Brendan stood. His red eyes were glowing ominously.

"Mew is special. She has something that no other person, no other trainer, in this world possesses. It is only natural that someone watch over her to ensure that she does not go out of hand." He put a hand on his chest. "I vow to you, Mr. Stone. Keep this all a secret and let me travel with her and I will ensure that pokemon does not hurt anyone, along with Mew herself."

"You leave me in a terrible position." The room went quiet. Then, in a much lighter tone, "How can I know that I can trust you… Brendan?"

"I can offer you the greatest possession I have." He put a pokeball on the table. "This pokemon has been with me for many years. She has my heart as the closest pokemon to me. You can take her for now. If I ever betray you, you have my permission to keep her. You can release her. You can kill her. If I don't keep my word, then do whatever the hell you want with her." Mr. Stone observed the pokeball. "If you ever need to find me, as well, she will know where I am."

"And we are to keep Mew in the dark about this, correct?"

"It is for her own safety. The extent of her powers as a trainer is far more than anyone I've ever known. She has potential. Not just with her torchic, but within herself." The room went quiet. "Do we have a deal, Mr. Stone?"

"We have a deal." They shook on it. Not too long after they released each other, the sound of rock hitting rock shattered their eardrums. They flinched and looked around. On the right wall was part of a crater that had just been formed. Dust trickled off it and down on the floor. Mr. Stone could see the outline of a nosepass in the center. His jaw gaped. Brendan laughed loudly. His red eyes faded to blue.

"It looks like she just won her first gym battle," he joked. "I guess this is what happens when you wait too long to let me get to work."

"Just get out." Mr. Stone turned away. "I'm done talking to you."

"Alright, Mr. Stone." He started towards the door. "Oh, and one last thing. If you don't keep your word and tell her, or harm my pokemon without reason, I'll find whoever is the closest to you, and I will kill them." He walked out, waving casually over his shoulder.

Mew Received the Stone Badge!

Mew Received HM01: Cut!

Mew's Eve Has Evolved Into Combusken!

Save The Game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Continue?


	8. Pirate Seedot and the Collapsed Tunnel!

Chapter 7

Brendan stepped out of the police station with Mr. Stone at his side. The crowd had finally dispersed and the commotion had settled back down. Some workers started filling in the holes that Roxanne's nosepass had left behind. They were so calm about it that there was no doubt it had happened before countless times. Brendan searched around, but didn't find what he was searching for.

"She must've went to the pokemon center," Mr. Stone mumbled.

"You're going to be like this the whole time, I take it."

"I don't like negotiating with someone I don't trust," he admitted.

"Mew trusts me," Brendan pointed out. "Isn't that enough for you, Mr. Stone?" The president of the devon company sighed. "You see the facts but you refuse to believe them. That's your fatal flaw, sir."

"Answer one question for me: just one. I want you to answer truthfully. Just to this."

"Yes?"

"Are your intentions with that girl for the greater good, or for evil?" Brendan took the old man by the shoulders to face him directly. His red eyes shone with determination.

"I swear on the life of everything and everyone I love that I do this for the good of Mew, for Eve, for the sake of this world." He bowed his head. "You can trust me, Mr. Stone. Again, I hope you hold no ill will against me." The president unlatched the pokeball Brendan had given him from his belt.

"I have no choice but to believe you."

"I appreciate it, sir." He started to walk away. "You have my number if anything happens. I'll keep you up to date with everything that happens." Without waiting for the president to reply, Brendan was off towards the pokemon center. Before he left, Mr. Stone saw his eyes fade back from red to sea blue. His stomach throbbed. Was this what he was supposed to do?

"It's just as I expected," Nurse Joy confirmed, pulling the flashlight away from my seedots' broken eye. She stood and bowed her head in dismay. "The wound is too deep. He will never be able to see through his left eye again." My heart sunk.

"Oh… I see." The seedot started moaning, tears welling in his other eye. I leaned down and picked him up. He buried his face into my chest, where he began to quietly weep. I had never before felt so helpless. Eve and Plum stood in the corner, eyes on their feet. The room went to silence while we waited for the grass type to relax. He fell asleep in my arms, sniffling in his dreams. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

"I recommend he doesn't battle."

"What? Why?" Eve and Plum stepped up to my side.

"It's a recommendation. He has a disadvantage against the other pokemon without an eye. Chances are he will be seriously injured. If anything hits that eye, the damage could be irreparable." She paused. "But it is not my choice. You are his trainer."

"I'll let him decide when he wakes up." I set down my backpack and nested him inside again. He snuggled deeper in the blankets, humming. "It's not my fate. It's his."

"You are a wise trainer," Nurse Joy admired.

"Thanks." I hefted the bag over my shoulder. "Are Eve and Plum fully healed?" She nodded.

"Perfect condition for battling," she said, happy to change the subject. "They are very healthy. You have been taking great care of them. Keep up the good work." She held open the door for me while I stepped through, the rest of my pokemon at my heels. When we were out in the open, we were greeted by Brendan, who raised his hand in greeting.

"How 's it looking for them?" he asked. I told him everything that happened ever since he had left for the police station. The whole while he paid close attention, nodding at the details. "It sounds like we need to head north of here next, then. Try and train up a little more." He noticed Eve. "Looks like Eve isn't so tiny anymore." She nodded in agreement.

"Busken!"

"Did they clear you at the police station?" I asked, suddenly remembering why we had been separated. He bobbed his head once.

"Yeah. They have to talk to my father to fully confirm it, but I am clear." It sounded as if he didn't want to talk about it further, so I let it go.

"Help! Somebody!"

We looked towards the north. A woman was running towards the pokemon center, several skitty in her arms. They were covered in dirt and rubble. When she approached me, she shouted louder than necessary, "The tunnel! The tunnel collapsed on my husband!"

I didn't need any more of an explanation. I took Brendan by the wrist and we both started running.

As soon as we reached the grass that marked the end of the city, we turned right. Ahead of me was a field full of tall grass and a few trees. The trainers that were once in line to battle were racing towards us, ignoring the pokemon that leapt and nipped at their clothes. Behind them was a flume of dirt larger than the Devon corporation building. Brendan put a sleeve to his mouth the same time I did. Right when the trainers passed the storm of dust and dirt swept us, nearly flinging us backwards. We planted our heels in the dirt, waiting for the worst of the storm to pass before we continued forward.

The grass was clear of any wild pokemon by now so we ran straight through each patch. The deeper into the plume we went, the thicker and heavier the air became with dirt. Breathing became harder and my eyes stung. It was impossible to tell if we were going around in a circle. Brendan, however, seemed to know where he was going exactly. I let him lead. He adjusted the grip on my wrist to my hand, lacing my fingers with his.

My heart started racing. I tried to ignore it. Now was not the time to think about that kind of stuff. Focus! I had to focus! I squinted straight ahead. Something dark and tall was looming like a silhouette ahead. Brendan tugged, urging me to go faster. We sprinted quickly one last time before we found ourselves to the entrance of the Verdanturf Tunnel, or what was left of it. The entrance to it had completely caved in on itself, allowing no entry.

Brendan ran his hands across the boulders in the way, looking for any loose stones to begin digging. I started coughing. Even if my rival did find some stones to move, we wouldn't be able to enter and leave without choking to death.

"Dot!" the seedot from my bag hopped free and landed on the ground in front of me. Without hesitation, the grass type began sucking in the dirt around him through the hole on the top of the stem attached to his head. The dirt around us began to clear, so much so that I could move the sleeve from my mouth and get a full breath.

"Seedot, you know synthesis?" I asked. The pokemon was too busy inhaling dirt to answer, so he just nodded. As soon as he had taken the largest breath of air he could, he let out a loud exhale, expelling the smell of sweet scent in the air. There was still dirt hovering around us, but it wasn't enough to annoy us other than tickle our noses. Brendan had stopped for a second to remove the sleeve from his mouth, but the endless searching he had done nothing to clear our trail.

"We can't get through without something to break apart the boulders," he announced.

Crash! My seedot raced forward and began tackling the pile of rocks like it was nothing but a pillow. Brendan stumbled backwards, blinking in surprise. I grabbed my pokemon before he could tackle again.

"You don't have to do this," I whispered. "You don't need to fight." His expression turned determined. "You want to, don't you?"

"See," he agreed. A smile tickled my lips.

"In that case, take this." I reached into my bag and pulled out an eyepatch that my father had packed in case of emergency. I slipped it over his broken eye and tightened it to fit snugly. It looked more than cute on him, it looked heroic. "How do you like the name Sinbad?" He hopped in the air, squealing in delight. "Alright then! Sinbad, use tackle! Tackle! Tackle! Clear our path!"

Seedot hit the pile of rocks once, loosening the smaller of the rocks. Twice, allowing a few of them to fall to the Earth and break. Thrice, and the whole pile was swept away by his sheer might. The air started collecting dirt once again.

"Great!" I praised, patting him on the head. "C'mon, Brendan. We've got some people to save!" I was the first through the hole, Sinbad on my shoulder. I had to duck to be able to continue from then on, But Sinbad was small enough to where he didn't have to adjust at all. He started using synthesis, sucking in all the dirt in the air before expelling sweet scent once again. He had to do that three times before I was able to find my way through the cave without having to keep a hand on the wall.

"H-h-hello?" I heard someone call from up ahead. "P-please! We're all stuck!"

"I'm coming," I announced.

"Seedot!" Sinbad added. By the time I was far enough in the tunnel to see who was continuously calling for help, I could finally breathe without a sleeve over my mouth. Three people were up ahead, all of them underneath a single large boulder. One had a hand under it, another her arm, the last his left leg. I approached them and kneeled.

"Thank god you're here," one of the girls said. I could see the tears of pain dripping down her cheeks thickly. "We were clearing the tunnel when the pokemon went berserk. They started attacking everything, the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and this rock trapped us." She tried tugging her hand out from under it. "My hand is completely broken."

"You'll all be fine. We're here to save you. Sinbad, can you move the boulder?" He shook his head. "Eve?" She didn't reply. "Plum?" He looked towards the ground, confirming my fears. The cave shuddered, dropping all of us about two inches down. The three of them looked around, fear prevalent on their faces. The entire cave was going to give in. "Brendan, do you have any pokemon that can move this?"

"No," he said. "Marshtomp can't move something as large as that." The cave shuddered again. Tendrils of dirt started falling through the ceiling. "We have to hurry out of here, before it gives in entirely."

"I'm not leaving anyone behind." Desperate, I grabbed the underside of the rock and began pulling.

"Mew, we just have to sit and think! There's no way you can move that boulder, you're not strong enough!"

"See," Sinbad agreed. The boulder wouldn't budge, so I started lifting it harder.

"We don't have the time, Brendan!" The boulder began to inch off them. The three people trapped beneath it looked up to me, the tears in their eyes coming to a halt. "I won't let anyone die! If they have to die, then I've failed!" I pressed my forehead against the boulder. "If they die, I die with them!" Brendan went silent. His red eyes returned to him, but they were observant, not angry. "Everyone on Earth is born for a reason! Everyone deserves to live as long as they can!" The boulder inched again, shuddering against my strength. Sinbad, Eve, and Plum stepped back, surprised.

Brendan stepped up next to me and began pushing. The rock gave way even more. The two girls were able to pull free, but the man had his entire leg trapped underneath it. We would have to move the boulder completely to free him. The cave shuddered again. A loud crack went off in the distance. The girls got to their feet and looked around.

"Get out!" Brendan shouted. "The exit is back that way!" Marshtomp escaped from his pokeball, sensing that he was needed. "Lead them to safety, Marshtomp! Save them!" The pokemon looked reluctant to leave, but he did as told. The cave went abnormally silent as soon as they disappeared into the dust.

"Plum, Eve, Sinbad, get out, too," I commanded. "If this place caves in, I want you to be safe." The three of them looked between each other. Then, in unison, they raced forward and started pushing on the rock as well. "No! Get out! All of you! I love you guys too much to let you go down like this!" The rock inched forward a bit more. My arms started shaking. The sharp edges of the boulder cut my hands. Blood dripped down the sides.

"Seedot!"

"Ralts!"

"Busken!"

All their voices were strained, pained, and yet so determined. The man under the rock started squirming.

"Just a little more!" he shouted. "We can do it!" And he, too, began shoving at the rock. "Push! Push! _Push_!" The rock gave way and rolled out of the way. It hit the nearest wall. That was all it took for the cave to give in. Brendan grabbed the man and hoisted his arm over his shoulder and began running towards the exit, me hot on his heels. While we ran, I picked up each of my pokemon, Plum and Sinbad on my shoulders, Eve in my arms. I was running so quickly I was afraid I would pass right by the exit. The cave moaned and gave in right behind me. I felt the skin tear off the back of my heels as it gave in on itself, blocking the path behind us. When Brendan turned and raced out into the sunlight. I was right behind him, yet as soon as the light hit me, something snagged my heels. I hit the dirt, unintentionally flinging all three of my pokemon out into the open. As soon as they were free, whatever had taken ahold of my ankle yanked me right back into the cave. The entrance sealed itself again, this time with a giant boulder the size of the Devon building.

"MEW!" Brendan cried. I tried yelling back, but I got a lungful of dirt. Whatever had taken me hostage stood.

"Welcome to hell, trainer." He smiled. "Prepare to die."

Seedot Has Been Named Sinbad!

Hey, That's Not Half Bad!

Save The Game?

[YES] NoO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Continue?


	9. Me and Steven: a Pair-To-Be?

Chapter 9

The cave came to a shuddering halt. All that needed to fall had fallen. From the outside of the tunnel, Brendan lie the man against a nearby tree and pounded the boulder that kept him and I separated.

"MEW! MEW, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" His fists started bleeding as he beat the rock in front of him. "MEW!"

"Busken, busken?" Eve muttered. The other two pokemon huddled up to her, trembling. Brendan rested his head against the boulder and shut his eyes. The red glow was so bright from beneath his eyelids that it shone directly through. He stood there for a short while before pulling away and turning to the others.

"She's alive, but we can't get through right now." He pat Eve on the head. "Let's get everyone healed up and we'll come back for her." He paused. "Dammit, there's only one person with pokemon powerful enough to move this rock." He clenched his fists, debating silently. "I have no choice." The three pokemon looked at him, scared. "Trust me, I'm not leaving her behind. We need backup is all." He started hoisting the injured man over his shoulder and whispered, "Some good backup, alright."

The man who trapped me here leaned down and brushed a few strands of hair from my eyes. I backed away and drew skarmory's feather from my backpack. I clenched it so tightly that blood started to drip from my fingers. Steven had given me a sword to use, but I had no skill in using it. The silhouette grinned, his smile oddly brilliant.

"You must have received that from the Champion, I take it?" He tilted his head. "It looks like I'm not the only one who has taken interest in you."

"What do you want with me?" His smile didn't waver. He leaned over me and chuckled. "Sh-show yourself!" Without hesitation, he threw his arms out to the sides. His robe flapped, expelling all the dirt from the air. Before me stood a tall man in a Team Magma robe, one that was much more detailed and perfectly sewn, unlike the others I had seen. His red hair was greased back smoothly. He adjusted his glasses, snorting in content.

"I am Maxie, leader of Team Magma. I heard of a Trainer named after the creation pokemon. Not only that, but she has a pokemon with her, one trapped in the master ball that Giovanni stole years ago." He spread his arms wide. "I am here to kidnap you and your torchic."

"Eve is already gone," I said smugly. "She escaped when you trapped me here. There's no doubt she safe with Brendan heading for Rustboro." He lifted an eyebrow.

"Bren… dan? What a ridiculous name. Yet, very memorable. He took out two of my grunts in the forest. I couldn't get the Devon parts needed because of him." He reached down and secured a grip around my neck before I could slice at him with my sword. The air to my lungs stopped. I started coughing, begging the man with my eyes to release me. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. I just need you as weak as possible if I am to use you to get the Devon parts. Mr. Stone won't like his little experiment getting away."

"Ex… periment?" I heaved. He started lifting me off the ground by the throat. I hit his hands my fists, but they were still bloody and raw from moving the boulder.

"Don't you see, Mew? The reason why the pokemon professor, the president of Devon, even the champion are taking interest in you. You're not normal. There's something about you."

It couldn't be true. Brendan and I were friends, right? Soon-to-be best friends. That's all I wanted. What about Steven. It's true, I began to realize. He had only been there when there was something interesting to take part in. Was I his experiment? Was I Brendan's experiment? I tried to force the thoughts away, but it was hard to lie to myself. I was being used.

Maxie inhaled, as if drawing power from his words. "There's something so powerful and mysterious about you that you draw people to observe you and pokemon to fear you! That's why I need you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red orb. It was pulsing with power so strong that I began to sweat just being around it.

"Let me go!" I cried. "I don't know anything! I don't have anything you want! Please!" Maxie laughed.

"No, my dear, you are missing the point! You don't need to know anything to perform an experiment, especially one of my own!" He held the red orb up to my face. "This orb lost its power long ago, long before humans and pokemon coexisted. Look at it now! It's teeming with power! You're like a powerhouse of primitive energy!" He pressed the orb against my chest where my heart was supposed to be. The orb started burning my clothes, singing them right off my body. As soon as it touched my flesh, the burning sent me wailing. The pain was so intense my vision started to fade. "This is your destiny, my dear! Become one with the red orb!"

"STOP!" Tears flooded down my face. "HELP ME! ANYONE! PLEASE!" The red orb started sinking into my flesh. Raw power began to flood through my veins. I saw my whole life flash before my eyes. Every pokemon I had ever tried to befriend, every one that had attacked me. And my parents. Them healing all of my wounds and holding me close. Watching pokemon trainers bond with the pokemon I wish I could call my own. Watching them start their adventure while I sat at home alone in my room. "PLEASE! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" My wailing was getting out of control. By the time the red orb had completely mended with my flesh, I had to stop screaming because my throat burned like lava.

"There, we are done." He dropped me carelessly on the cold tunnel floor. I curled up in a ball and let the tears escape my eyes. "I will gather you when the time is ripe. Do not fight the changes you are about to experience. If you do, you might die. I don't know for sure, but that's the fun of the experiment." He paused. "Oh yes, I need to get the Devon parts." He grabbed my throat again and lifted me into the air. I was too weak to fight back. I just let him lift me.

Is this where I was going to truly die? At the hands of the leader of Team Magma, forced to become one with a red orb? What had I accomplished? Little to nothing, when I began to think about it. I was a toy. A toy for Maxie, for Brendan, and for Steven. If I could see him again, I wished, I would know for sure if he was really someone I could trust. I had trusted him before, could I trust him now?

Please, I prayed, if there is a god out there, show me the way. Show me who I can turn to!

The entrance to the cave exploded. Maxie was blown backwards. I just dropped to the ground, to tired to brace myself for landing. Light poured onto me. I opened my eyes delicately as another silhouette approached me. I lifted my head to turn away, but a familiar warm hand gently lifted my chin. I met the warm green gaze of Steven. His skarmory, antsy in my presence, returned to her pokeball. I tried to smile, but coughed instead.

"Mew…?" he whispered. "What has he done to you?"

I let the tears pool in my eyes. It was him. He was here. He had come to save me. I smiled faintly. Whatever god was out there, they had heard me. Steven was here to save me.

"Red… orb," I replied, delicately lifting my hand to touch the part on my chest where the red orb had entered. A seal had been placed on it: the Team Magma symbol. Steven's face turned aghast. "I'm… ok," I added. He leaned forward and secured me in his grasp. Slowly and gently, he lifted me into his arms like a princess. I rested the side of my head against his chest. He smelt like sweet strawberries. It soothed me so much.

"Maxie! I command you to remove the orb from her!" Steven shouted. The Team Magma leader stood up and dusted himself off. He was calm once again, placing his hands behind his back and smiling smugly.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir." He didn't sound the least bit sorry. "The red orb chose her for a host. I was merely a bystander. Even if I did know how to remove it, it's too late. The red orb has bonded with her life force. She is one with it. There is no undoing it." Steven grit his teeth through the whole speech.

"I'll kill you!" He stepped forward. "I'll kill you and all your comrades!" Maxie snorted.

"I'd like to see you try. It looks like I'll have to get the Devon parts at another time. Au revoir." Then the smooth leader turned around and disappeared down the tunnel, waving over his shoulder. He punched the wall with his free hand and a wall of rocks came tumbling down behind him.

Steven looked down at me. His emerald eyes showed nothing but complete sorrow.

"You saved me," I said. "I'm… I'm sorry." He looked at me oddly.

"Why are you sorry?" I just stared at him. I'm sorry for doubting you, I told him in my thoughts. I'm sorry I ever gave up on trusting you. "No, Mew. I'm sorry." He held me close and hugged onto me tightly. "I should've come sooner." I tried to speak, but I couldn't. I was too overwhelmed by his scent, his touch, just being in his arms. I held my head next to his heart, where I could feel it beating just as fast. He sighed and shut his eyes harshly. "I shouldn't have left you. You attract nothing but trouble, I swear."

"I'm just fine," I argued. "You saved me."

"But the red orb," he started, putting a hand to my heart. He felt it beating at the speed of sound and chuckled. "I wonder if it accelerates human pulse, or you're just overwhelmingly glad I saved you." He laughed at himself while I lie there, turning as red as a strawberry. "Let's get you back to Rustboro. My dad can tell us what we can do." He scanned the area, making sure no other magma personnel were around. "Can you walk?" He set me down. I stumbled almost right away. I was about to fall flat on my face when he grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him. Instinctively, I put my hands on his chest. His heart started racing. The minute he knew I could feel it, he improvised. He pulled me away slightly and spun me around once or twice before releasing me. I stumbled again, but managed to gain my balance.

"You can dance?" I asked. His face flashed red for but a second.

"I know my way around a ballroom." I could tell he was trying to keep his calm demeanor steady. "Why do you ask?"

"Normally guys don't twirl girls around after saving them from a crazed goon." His face turned pink at my words.

"Normally people are born named after cartoons." He smirked. "Mew Zakuro," he muttered, chuckling.

"Your favorite character, I hear?" This time, he blushed. He couldn't mask it anymore.

"Who told you that?"

"I can't remember," I said. He rolled his eyes.

"Of course you don't. Come, we have to get back to the pokecenter." He stalked off towards the town. Before he got too far ahead, I ran up to his side and purposely bumped him with my shoulder. He looked at me, raised an eyebrow, and continued. When I was about to do it again, he grabbed my hand and laced his fingers. The rest of the walk was silent except for the loud beating of our hearts. I squeezed his hand and he did the same. I couldn't have been happier.

Gods did exist then. I decided then. They didn't exist in Kanto, but they sure as hell existed here, watching over Steven and I.

Mew Received The Red Orb!

Red Orb And Mew Have Become One!

Red Orb Disappeared!

Steven Is Friendly Towards Mew!

Save The Game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Continue?


	10. My First Kiss is with, Oh No!

Chapter 9

When we traveled back to Rustboro city, we weren't prepared to meet the crowd that was there to greet us. They didn't notice us approaching until Brendan broke from the front of the group, shouting my name. As soon as the crowd realized we had made it out alive, Brendan lifted me by the waist and lifted me into the air, a wide and excited smile across his face. As soon as he set me down, I hugged him, laughing.

"I see Steven found you." Mr. Stone stepped out of the crowd. Brendan released me so I could face him. "Welcome back, young hero." He held out three pokeballs. Eve, Plum, and Sinbad emerged, clasping onto me the very second they were released. I dropped to my knees and hugged all of them.

"Everyone, you're ok!" They nuzzled closer, shouting in happiness.

"We owe the effort to your rescue to both young Steven and Brendan." I stood, all of them nestled in my arms. "If Brendan hadn't come when he did, Steven may have not been able to get you in time." He opened his mouth to speak, but it was right then that he saw the tattoo of Team Magma on my chest shine. "Oh," he whispered, putting his hand to his forehead. "Oh, no." Brendan observed it as well. His eyes shone is sudden interest. Steven didn't say anything.

"What's going on?" Roxanne pushed through the crowd. they had gone deathly silent the instant my tattoo glowed. When she appeared, it shone again. She covered her hand with her mouth and stepped back once. "It's… it's the mark of Groudon."

The crowd behind her started mumbling frantically. They started edging away slowly.

"Groudon?" I asked. "Who is that?" Roxanne took my arm and pulled me through the crowd until we were in front of the Devon corporation building. She waited until Steven, Mr. Stone, and Brendan had caught up until she continued. We ran up the stairs and entered Mr. Stone's office. Once everyone had entered, he shut the door to the stairs and locked it. He walked over to his desk and set his hands on it, palms down. The various stones he kept in cases on it shook from the force of it.

"To think that Mew was already a target already. Now she has something else entirely to stop." My mind began to race. What had Maxie done to me? I put my hand across the tattoo. Maybe if I wished hard enough, it would disappear. But when I removed my hand, it was still there. "Don't cover it, Mew. If you do, it will feed of your flesh instead of the air." I twitched. Sweet arceus, I was so confused.

"Stone," Roxanne pressed. "Tell her everything. There's no choice now." Steven and Mr. Stone nodded at each other. Steven dug his hands into his pocket.

"At the beginning of time, the seas roared and the land was nothing but magma. Two primitive forces that controlled both battled for ages, eons, billions of years. When it came time for the Earth to be habitable, the pokemon of the skies came down and silenced their fighting. As soon as the two pokemon finished quarreling, their souls were trapped in two orbs. The beast of water, Kyogre, was trapped in the blue orb. The beast of land, Groudon, was trapped in the red orb." He stepped forward and crossed his arms. "Empires rose and fell, millions of years passed. It wasn't until recently that Hoenn archeologists found the red and blue orbs. They were hidden in Slateport city, trapped behind impenetrable glass and surrounded by alarms and other weapons to keep them safe."

He cleared his throat. "But it was not enough. Team Magma, or those who want to eliminate the ocean, and Team Aqua, those who want to expand the sea, were once a single team. It was when they both attacked the museum and stole both orbs did they begin to quarrel. They branched off away from each other, Aqua possessing the orb of Kyogre, Magma possessing the orb of Groudon." He paused. "They each had a plan for what they were to do when they had the legendary pokemon by their side. They would either use Groudon to expand the land for humans and land-bound pokemon. Or they would summon Kyogre and expand the ocean for pokemon to live, wiping out the human race." He held out his pokeball. "The two of them knew that to catch either Groudon or Kyogre, they needed to find a way to power the orbs. But once they had stolen the orbs, it didn't take them long to realize they had lost all their power in the war millions of years ago. They were never able to find a stable power source until today."

"Mew," Mr. Stone interrupted. "Your body has become a host for Groudon's soul. From now forward, you will have no choice but to house him. When the time comes to release him, you and only you can stop him."

"B-but… I can't!" I backed away. "I'm just a normal girl!"

"You are no normal girl," Mr. Stone declared. "You are beyond explanation. Your body produces the energy to bring Groudon back to life. There is nothing normal about you." I put myself up against the wall. "This is your destiny, Mew. You are to save the Hoenn region from utmost destruction."

"I'm not going to!" I sliced my hand through the air. I felt my body quivering from rage. "I'm not your experiment! I'm not anybody's experiment!" I pushed Brendan away when he tried to hug me. "Get away from me! You're all the monsters, not me!" I kicked down the door to the office, taking a piece of the wall with it. Every got to their feet, eyes wide. I felt power coursing through my veins like ancient and primitive magic. "You don't decide my destiny!" I cried. "I control my own!" Then I ran down the stairs.

"Mew!" Brendan and Steven shouted at the same time. They stopped to glare at each other before taking off down the stairs, shoving each other the whole way. Roxanne and Mr. Stone stayed where they were, hands over their mouths in surprise.

"She kicked down the door like it was nothing," Roxanne whispered. "Who would do such a thing to a girl like Mew?"

"Like I said before, Mew is no normal person." Mr. Stone sat down. "It is like she is a pokemon herself."

I didn't know where I was going. I just had to run. I couldn't go back north, I didn't have a water pokemon to cross it or any pokemon to blast back through the tunnel. Personally, if I never saw the cave again, it would be too much. I heard Brendan and Steven right on my heels as I traveled back south. As soon as I was out of the city, I tried to jump over a puddle, but tripped on Plum, who had escaped to see what the commotion was about. I landed face-first in the water.

The burning was almost as bad as when Maxie pressed the red orb into my flesh. I retrieved Plum to his pokeball before jumping out of the puddle and getting right back on the track. Before I could sprint, however, Brendan grabbed a hold of my wrist and flung me towards him. He trapped me in his iron grip, red eyes not leaving mine for a second.

"You can't run away from the truth," he said. "We don't choose our destiny. Our destiny chooses us."

"I'm in complete control of everything!" I shouted, tugging against his iron grip. "Let me go, or else I'll kill you!"

"Will you, Mew?" He leaned forward. "Will you kill your best friend? Just because I'm trying to help you?" My vision flashed red. His eyes narrowed. "This isn't you, Mew. It's Groudon." Steven, from in the background, watched helplessly.

"I'm not Groudon!" I shouted. "My name is Mew! Can't you see I'm just a normal girl?!" Brendan pulled me closer. I felt my limbs tingle from how tightly he was grabbing me.

"Say it again," he said, loud and clear. "Fight off the evil inside you."

"D-don't tell me what to do!" I grabbed onto his neck with my hand. "I don't have to listen to you!" My body pulsed red. Steven held up his hands when the red pulse passed through him. For once, the unusually calm champion was becoming uneasy.

"Brendan, what is happening?!" he yelled. "What can I do to help?!" Brendan tried to think, but my hands were clasping his neck harder and harder. Tears started streaming down my face. What was happening? Why was I so angry? Let him go, I told myself. Let him go!

But I couldn't find the will to do it.

"Calm down, Mew. It's ok. I'm here to protect you." I looked at him. My eyes flashed between ominous black and my normal purple. He grabbed my hands and put them around him instead of at his throat. I tried fighting him, but his iron grip was much stronger than my own. "It's me, Brendan. You know me."

"I know!" I hollered, quivering in his grasp. My eyes started fading black again. "H-h-help me!"

"The pokemon is consuming your soul with hatred in despair," he explained. "Will you allow me to counter it? I need your exact permission." I didn't know what he was doing to do but I was in so much pain, I only nodded.

Then he cured me.

By leaning forward and kissing me right on the mouth.

Mew Used Rage!

Brendan Used Protect!

Mew's Attack Missed!

Brendan Used Attract!

Mew Is Confused!

To Be Continued…


	11. I Now Have Love Rivals!

Chapter 10

I didn't know what to think. I thought Brendan was just being absurd by kissing me, but as soon as he had, the anger within me began to diminish. I regained full control of my body. My eyes turned purple once again. And lastly, the red glow that had encased me disappeared. I was too scared to look at Steven, but I could see from the corner of my eye that he was slowly raising his arms to rest them on the top of his head. He was more than surprised.

Brendan pulled away the second he felt Groudon's presence disappear. He met eyes with me. For the first time since I had met him, Brendan looked genuinely surprised. His hair blew softly in the wind. His red eyes were suddenly so gentle and soft. I shoved him away. I stumbled backwards and into the puddle again. My flesh burned when I hit it, but I was too surprised to sit up.

Brendan's eyes dove straight into mine. His bravery returned.

"I did as needed, Mew. I hope you understand."

"Understand?!" Steven blurted. He grabbed the novice trainer by the collar and lifted him into the air. "What on Earth were you thinking?" I stepped out of the puddle and onto the grass. I looked into my hands. Where the water had touched me, the flesh was bright red. Why did it burn so bad? "She's just been possessed by a primitive pokemon and that's how you stop it?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Brendan put his hands over Steven's, nudging them away. The champion threw him to the dirt and walked over to me. He knelt to my height.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a low whisper. I couldn't speak, so I just held out my hand. He took it in his own to observe it. "The pokemon inside you has taken over your senses. In a sense, you've become part ground type. Whenever you hit water, you'll get badly hurt." I didn't say anything. He met my eyes, looking defeated.

"We should get going," Brendan interrupted. "If Maxie is in Verdanturf town, the fastest way there would be through slateport." I couldn't bring myself to answer him. I had never been close to a boy, let alone kiss him. This whole thing was overwhelming me. He could tell that I was upset, so going against Steven's hard glares. "I had no choice. The only way to counter a strong emotion like anger is to focus you on a different one."

"That's preposterous," Steven countered. "There must've been other ways to bring her back."

"Name one." We all went quiet. He bowed his head. "I figured. Next time, I'll let you do the honors." Steven blushed slightly.

"Forget it," he stood, helping me to my feet by a grip on my elbow. "Slateport is our next destination."

"You weren't planning on leaving without a goodbye, were you?" Roxanne and Mr. Stone stepped out from the city border and onto the grass. She caught sight of my burns. "Well, it's going to suck to take a shower for you now, isn't it?" I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, I guess so." I rubbed the back of my neck. Man, had I made a scene. I looked down at the mark of Groudon on my upper chest. It was glowing slightly. Was I set to become a monster with this red orb inside me? I gulped. I couldn't lose control like that again. I was out of control.

"Mew, you need a shirt that exposes the symbol to sunlight without exposing yourself," Roxanne continued. She had a shirt in her hands, which she handed to me. She also handed me a skirt, some leggings, and cute shoes. It was like her outfit, but the colors were designed to match my purple eyes and light pink hair. "You look like a bum in the pokecenter t-shirt anyways. Up your style." She looked up towards the sky. "Man, has it gotten late. You three better head on back to Rustboro with us and get some sleep before traveling."

"Do you have a boat to take us to Slateport in the morning, Dad?" Steven asked. His father shook his head slowly. "I do not own one, but I do have a friend that owes me a favor or two." He beckoned towards us. "I'll explain the rest in the morning. The three of you have to rest." Brendan and Steven both started walking away. I followed them both and stood next to Roxanne. She grinned.

"Ready for bed?" I nodded. Today had been so ridiculously long that I was relieved it was time to rest. Exhaustion was consuming me. "C'mon, I have a room booked especially for you." She started to lead me towards the pokecenter. When we had entered Rustboro, I heard Mr. Stone begin talking to the two boys.

"There's only one room open in the pokecenter for you two. You'll have to share." They glared at each other. "I suppose coming to an agreement about who sleeps on the floor and who gets the bed is out of the question?"

"How about a battle?" Steven questioned. Brendan snorted.

"Not on your life," he countered. "I'd end up killing your pokemon with my original team. You get the bed tonight. I'm used to sleeping on the floor." Then he passed them and behind me. I looked away before we could meet eyes. Would I ever be able to avoid this awkwardness?

The pokemon center was lit up in the darkness, the doors to the building opened in wide welcome. Roxanne and I stepped through as the automatic doors slid shut from behind.

"Quick question," she said before I was able to approach the front desk. "Which of the boys do you like better?" I couldn't have been more embarrassed. I stammered for the right words, but they came out in a jumbled mess. The gym leader laughed out loud. "You'll have to pick sometime, Mew. You can't keep them fighting over you like this. It's not the ideal team to travel with."

"I don't know which one," I finally blabbed. "I don't even feel like they like me. I'm just a girl with a combusken in a master ball and the red orb in my chest. Who's to say they're not just getting me interested in them to get closer?" I stopped myself. Is… is that what I really thought? My shoulders sagged. For some reason, the thought of being used like that made me… unhappy. Roxanne noticed it right away.

"I'm not saying that can't be true," she admitted. "Just follow your heart. That's what I didn't do when I had the same thing happen." She took a moment to think. "Well, I wasn't in your exact position, but it was similar in some ways. You get the idea." She started out the door. Without facing me, she whispered, "If anything, watch over yourself. Don't put your life into anybody else's hands unless completely necessary. It's not that you shouldn't trust them, you should just have the ability to watch over yourself if the time calls for it." She glanced at me from over her shoulder. "Tred on paved paths, Mew. Leave the trail for a minute and it could cost you more than your life." Then she was out and into the dark of night. Brendan and Steven entered the pokecenter then. I quickly got a room from Nurse Joy before heading behind the counter and into one of the more spacious rooms. I felt Steven's and Brendan's eyes drilling holes into my backs.

I entered my room and closed the door behind me. My pokemon automatically released themselves. Every one of them had the same expression on their face: worry. I sighed and sat down on the bed, where I buried my face in my hands. They all hopped up on the bed and leaned against me.

"You guys are the best," I whispered. I picked up Plum and held him in the air, where he started humming happily. "What would I have done without you all?" I set him down on my lap. Sinbad nudged me with the sharp point on top of his head. "We need to file that down, don't we?" He shook his head. "Oh, I forgot it would make a good weapon for battling." Eve cleared her throat. "Good job on the battle today. You did great." She purred proudly.

I fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Plum rested his head on my stomach, Sinbad curled up by my head, and Eve tucked herself under my arm. "Is this what a pokemon trainer feels like? Being fused with an ancient artifact, stuck between two boys who are probably only interested in me because I have my starter in a master ball?" All three of them broke out into laughter. I chuckled. "I take that as a no." I got up and pulled all of them with me to the head of the bed where I tucked myself, Plum, and Sinbad under it with me. Eve curled up at my feet, already half asleep. "I guess I'm not normal." I laid my head to the side. "Maybe tomorrow will be better."

I fell asleep at the same time my pokemon did. We all heaved a great sigh of relief before slipping off into our dreams.

Welcome To The Pokemon Center!

Would You Like Me To Heal You And Your Pokemon?

[YES] NO

Alright, Let Me Heal You!

Save Game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Continue?


	12. The Rain Falls Harder with Sharpedos!

Chapter 12

The next day when I walked out of the pokemon center, I immediately had to return inside. It was raining. Though it was just a drizzle, it still stung my flesh. I had to put on Roxanne's flashy outfit before I left my room, and it was not too covering. It was basically a dress that had been ripped apart and made into a spaghetti strap and skirt. The leggings were light pink, just like my hair. The skirt was splashed by purple and the same pink, matching the design on my shirt. My hair was bothering me so I used my headband to tie it back in a high ponytail. The only thing about the outfit that made it look a little weird were my running shoes, which gave the whole flashy outfit a bit of a joggers touch. I refused to put on the shoes Roxxy had given me, They were far too small and uncomfortable.

Steven and Brendan hadn't woken up yet, so I walked up the stairs. There was few people up there, so I pulled out my PokeNav. It was an interesting device. There were apps to show me where to catch certain pokemon, apps that told me the weather, and other random ones like games and tools like flashlight and map. The map showed me where I had traveled and the locations of my parents and the Professor. Three dots were huddled in the same spot: where Brendan, Steven, and I currently were. I zoomed out far enough I could see the Kanto region, far from where I was. I zoomed in on Saffron city.

What? There was a dot there. I had someone's number who was currently in Kanto? I zoomed in on it. They were in Pallet Town. Wait, there were three. I tapped on each one. Professor Oak, Green, and Blue? I'd never met any of them. Who had put them in there?

"Hey," a voice interrupted me. Brendan was standing at the top of the stairs. He held up a PokeNav. "We switched PokeNavs in our exchange yesterday." My face was suddenly deep red.

"O-oh. I-I'm sorry." I walked over to him and handed his back. He gave me my own. "You know some people in Kanto?" His eyes flashed red.

"My father had to work with the professor and some of the people he hired to fill out his pokedex. I got their numbers because," He stopped to reach into his pocket and hold up a PokeDex. Not just any PokeDex, but one originally from Kanto. "he wanted me to participate in the capturing of pokemon. I live here in Hoenn, so he thought it would be great to get the information on the pokemon here as well. I call him from time to time whenever I learn something interesting."

"You haven't caught a lot of pokemon," I said. He narrowed his eyes. I must've sounded like I was issuing a challenge because he was beginning to get defensive.

"We've been pretty busy along the way, haven't we?"

"Y-yeah, I guess so." He waited for any more questions, but I didn't say anything more. His eyes faded back to blue.

"Are you afraid of me?" His question was sudden. I rubbed behind my neck, struggling to think of an answer. "Because you shouldn't be. I'm here to protect you." The air went silent. "I hope you're not embarrassed about what I had to do yesterday. There was no other viable option."

"I know, I just-" When I met his gaze, I saw he was blushing. Him? Blushing? That was so out of character. He turned away immediately.

"You need an umbrella," he changed the subject. "I have the majority of our winnings. I'll stop by the pokemart next door and get what we need." Then he was off down the stairs, not so much as a glance back. As soon as he was gone, I went down the stairs. Steven was just emerging from his room when I stepped onto the floor.

"Hey," he said, raising his hand in greeting. "Good morning." He caught sight of the rain outside. "It looks as if it will storm today. We have to be careful when on our way to Slateport." With me by his side, he stepped up to the window. "One of my gym leaders informed me that there are currently no challengers approaching to challenge me. I'll be able to travel with you for now." I sighed in relief. "What?"

"I don't know what to think of Brendan. I don't feel like he's telling the truth about some things."

"Oh?"

"I had his PokeNav by mistake. He has some oddly named people on there." Steven tucked his hands in his pockets. "It looks like he had been to Kanto before. From the looks of the tracks, he had been everywhere, literally everywhere in that region." I started redoing my ponytail. "He said he was only visiting, but it must've been a tour or something."

"What were these people's names you saw on his PokeNav?" Steven interrupted softly.

"I understand how he knew Professor Oak, his dad is another professor. But there were some weird names like Blue and Green." Steven paused at my words. "I'm pretty sure they were nicknames, but it's still confusing."

"Thanks for letting me know." He ruffled my hair. "You're becoming rather observant."

"You're not mad at me about yesterday, are you?"

"Why would I be angered at you by an action of his?"

"You seemed pretty surprised," I conceded. He chuckled.

"It was a bit of a surprise, but I suppose it was called for. I thought about it last night. Groudon and Kyogre did only stop fighting when their emotions were switched from anger to surprise. You did the same."

"What was that pokemon that stopped their fighting?" I asked.

"The deity of the sky: Rayquaza. I don't think you need to worry about him. He has no orb. The chances of seeing him are little to none." He ruffled my hair again. "When it comes to the mystery about Kyogre and Groudon, he is the most shrouded in mystery. Some say he didn't even exist. Some say that Kyogre and Groudon just grew tired of fighting."

"Do you think I'll have to fight somebody if they end up absorbing the blue orb in them?"

"Don't be preposterous." The two of us watched the rain fall outside in silence. "You should wear your hair up more often."

"Eh?"

"It brings out your eyes." I was too startled to say anything.

It was then that Brendan came into the pokecenter, bags full of pokemon items covering his arms. He walked towards us, dripping in rainwater. He handed Steven a backpack, me two plastic bags, and one bag for himself. Steven pulled out a few full restores and other expensive items like max revives from the bag, lifting his eyebrows in surprise.

"Sorry to act out of line yesterday," Brendan apologized. "I know you can't use a lot of items in challenger battles, but in case you were out, I got you a few for the road."

"Very kind of you," Steven admitted. He slung the bag over his shoulder. "You really know your information. I didn't think that many people knew that champions couldn't use items during battles."

"Like I said, I know my stuff." He held out his hand. "Call it good?" Steven took it and shook it firmly.

"I accept." Their hands parted. I felt a little better knowing they were on better terms, but there was still some hidden hostility. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it.

I started pulling things from the bag and placing them in my own. Basic items like potions and repels, pokeballs and revives. There was also a jacket inside. It wasn't like any jacket I had ever seen in a pokemart before. It red with white sleeves and a white collar. It looked like it had been worn already because of how faded the red was, but other than that, it looked like new.

"That looks familiar from somewhere," Steven mumbled.

"Must've seen somewhere wear it here in town," Brendan explained. "Someone sold it to the pokemart yesterday. Looked pretty cool, so I bought it." I slipped it on as soon as he had finished speaking. Inside it was a soft, almost silky interior.

"I like it," I said in gratitude. "Thanks, Brendan." He nodded, smiling softly.

"You have quite the bit of cash to buy all this," Steven said. It was true. I still had a lot of my money. There was no way the past few days worth of battling was enough to buy all of this.

"I save a lot from my past adventures." This time, there was no doubt in Steven's face that it was the truth. "I was quite the trainer, if I do say so myself. But enough about me. Let's get on the road." He pulled a small umbrella from his own bag before throwing the rest in his pack. He stepped outside and opened the umbrella. On it was the cute print of all the eeveelutions. He held it out so there was a clear path from the pokecenter doors to him. As soon as I was under, he gestured for Steven to follow, but the champion pulled out his own umbrella: a simpler black one with silver spots.

For some reason, I felt like the hostility between the two of them had grown. And by grown, I mean a lot. If I hadn't been there, they might've been going for each others' throats. Like Roxxy had said, two boys quarreling wasn't the ideal team to be with. Maybe I'd have to make my decision clear when it came to how I felt about them.

Yet, yesterday… yesterday had changed a lot. My first kiss: Brendan Birch. It wasn't what I had pictured when I was thirteen years old, but it would have to do. He had acted to carefree before today. Why was he acting so unusually sweet? I tried to keep my beating heart down. Maybe I had to think a little bit before taking anything further.

We walked out of the pokecenter and on the road away from Rustboro and towards Petalburg Woods. I want to say I didn't look back and feel like it was too soon to leave, but I can't. I looked back, hoping to see Roxxy waving goodbye, but I had a feeling she was probably battling some trainers or just staying out of the rain. As soon as we entered the woods, the rain let up a little bit from under the tops of trees. I looked back one last time and waved quickly, so Steven and Brendan didn't see, and continued onwards into the darkness. If there was any god following me, I hoped they had seen that.

By the time we were out of the woods, my pokemon were higher levels and learned better moves. Eve learned flame charge and peck. Plum knew confusion and magical leaf. Sinbad learned razor leaf and pursuit. They were all turning into a great team. They got along so well, too. I was proud when the three of them were able to take on a hoard of wurmples and all get out unscaved.

When we stepped out of the woods, the rain had not let up. The clouds were obscuring the sky, giving the air a nighttime look. Now I was under Steven's umbrella.

"Father said that a man by the name of Briney lives in the cottage over there." He pointed towards an older-looking shack with a pier just past it, sticking out into the water. Tied to one of the posts was a medium-sized sea vessel that looked to be kept in pretty good condition. Like the pokemon trainers we were, we entered the house without permission.

Inside was an old geezer chasing around a wingull playfully. He saw us and stopped. The pokemon flew up onto his shoulder, where the old man pet the top of his head. He greeted us with a wide smile.

"Welcome, you three! What can I do for you?" His voice full of energy and excited for having grey hair only growing on the sides of his head.

"My father knows you from some old times," Steven started. "His name is Mr. Stone of the Devon Corporation. I'm his son, Steven."

"Ah, yes. I remember you." He stopped petting his wingull to give a thumbs up. "You're doing great as a champion. Haven't been beaten yet, have you?"

"No sir," Steven replied with a hint of a smile. "Thank you."

"What can I do for you and your friends?"

"We are in need of a way to Slateport," Steven explained. "The tunnel to Verdanturf collapsed the other day. In short, we have no choice but to ask for your guidance there."

"In this weather, lads?" Mr. Briney looked at his wingull. The bird ruffled her feathers. "Yeah, I agree with you, Peeko. A storm's brewing over near there. By the time we pass by Dewford, the storm would hit."

"We need to get there as soon as possible," Brendan urged. "We apologize to put you out of your comfort zone, but this is rather urgent." Mr. Briney sighed.

"Normally I would wait a day, maybe two. But if the champion and his friends need to arrive there, then I guess the right thing to do would be to help." Peeko chirped loudly. "Don't worry, my darling. We will be just fine. My ship has never sunk, let alone take any damage." Steven put his hands together in gratitude.

"Thank you. Is there anyway we can repay you?"

"No need for payment. You're Stone's son. Him and I go way back." He started towards the door. "C'mon, all of you. We'll leave now." We stepped out into the rain and off the pier, where Mr. Briney helped all of us across the water and on the ship. It wasn't too fancy, but below the deck in a lounge-looking room there was a television and a few couches. There was a kitchen and a table to eat at. I sat in the couch, sighing when I realized how soft it was. I naturally grabbed for the remote to turn on the tv. Mr. Briney came down as soon as I had it started up.

"Won't get any cable out in this storm, let alone the sea, lass." He picked up the remote and switched it off cable and to video. "I got some movies if you're interested."

"How long will this take?" Brendan asked, examining the contents of the fridge. He pulled out a gallon of moomoo milk and began to pour it into a glass.

"About six hours. Three from here to Dewford, three from Dewford to Slateport." I sighed. I forgot this whole region was mainly water. It would take forever to get there. And from the looks of it, all of Mr. Briney's movies were old romances. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. I pulled out my PokeNav. It was six in the morning right now. By the time we got there it would be noon, and with the storm brewing, it would be about one. I started playing some games on it, ready to pass the time.

Steven sat beside me. "Not going to play any movies?" When he finished speaking, I felt the boat jerk gently, like it was being pushed away from the pier. "There looks to be a lot of them."

"They're not my taste," I told him. He got up to look through them. Brendan had already downed three cups of moomoo milk and returned it to the fridge when the toast he had been baking finished. He pulled it from the toaster and began to butter it when the boat jerked again, this time much harder. He dropped it on the floor.

"Aw, I was really looking forward to that." He reached down and blew on it. Then he took a big bite of it.

"That's…" I mumbled.

"Oh, you want a piece?" he held it out to me jokingly. "Mmm, floor flavor."

"You're disturbing."

"And you don't have toast. Who do you think is winning here?" I chuckled. "That's right, you know who the real winner of this argument is."

"Can I get your lads' help?" Mr. Briney called from above deck. "We've hit a coral reef, from the looks of it!"

"Already?" Steven mumbled, standing. "Surely, this close to the shore, there shouldn't be anything this ship can hit." He started up the stairs after Brendan. Out of curiosity, I followed, opening Steven's umbrella above me as I stepped outside. The rain was pouring just a bit harder, the waves rocking the ship. The shore was within fair swimming distance. It was like we had only gone a few feet from the pier and stuck in place. "It's not a reef, judging from where we are. Probably just a large rock." Steven was by Mr. Briney at the wheel. It was stuck in place, unable to turn or twist.

I looked over the side of the boat. I don't know how they could have missed it, but there were pokemon in the water. A lot of them. And not just your average tentacool and magikarp: but sharpedo'. They were holding the boat firmly in place with the fins atop their heads. Brendan saw the same thing.

"Sharpedos off every side," he reported. Steven and Mr. Briney approached him. When they saw that he wasn't lying, the backed away from the rail and began formulating a plan. "Usually when sharpedos travel in a herd, its further offshore than this." Brendan had stepped up beside me. "This isn't a good sign."

"What can we do?" As soon as I spoke, a sharpedo jumped up and out of the water, trying to take a good bite off my head. Brendan grabbed me and pulled me back before I was killed. I was shaking from fear.

"Let me handle them." He released me and pulled out his pokeball, from which marshtomp appeared. The pokemon belched in welcome. "Use muddy water to wash them all away. If there are a few left, blast them out of the water with mudslap." The pokemon bobbed his head before jumping off the deck.

"Stomp!" his pokemon shouted. I looked over the deck just as soon as the water turned muddy brown and streamed behind us. The majority of the shark pokemon were knocked away, but the few that remained were bounced off and mudslapped by marshtomp. When he returned to deck, the water cleared and the ship took off at an alarming rate. It was like a rocket taking off. I slid backwards and against the railing, bruising my back. The ship did somewhat of a wheelie before Mr. Briney grabbed the accelerator and yanked it backwards. The ship slowed and the captain took hold of the wheel, smiling nervously.

"I guess that's what I get for leaving it full throttle ahead without me at the wheel." I stood up and rubbed my back. Man, was that going to hurt. I picked up my umbrella and started off below deck. Steven had put on a DVD that was all too familiar to me: the first episode of Tokyo Mew Mew.

"It looks like Mr. Briney likes it as well." I turned around. Steven was just coming below deck, soaked in rainwater. He looked so incredibly gorgeous with his hair dripping wet.

"Oh, sorry." I held out his umbrella to him. "I forgot that you needed this." He pushed it back into my hands.

"No need for apologies. I can handle the rain just fine. I'm from an island city where it tends to rain more than it shines." He sat down on the couch. "You going to watch this with me?"

"O-oh, sure." I sat down a ways from him. The show started and we began watching it. I don't know what it was, but my back wouldn't stop hurting. I had hit the railing so hard that I could feel my back throbbing in pain. I tried leaning back, propping my head on my knees, even lying down slightly to ease the pain, but nothing worked.

"You're in pain," Steven observed. I tried to cover up the fact that I was in pain, but he had already caught on. "Come here."

"N-no, really, I'm ok." I leaned back awkwardly. "S-see?" He shook his head and chuckled. He stood up, ready to approach me, but the boat lurched again. Him and I were thrown forward and onto the floor. When the ship came to a halt, I opened my eyes. I was sitting on top of Steven's stomach, accidentally pinning him down. We met eyes and something came across his face that made my heart skip a beat.

"Lads and lass!" Briney called up from the deck. "You might want to come up here! The sharpedos are back, and they brought their trainers with them!"

A Hoard Of Sharpedos Appeared!

Brendan Sent Out Marshtomp!

Marshtomp Used Muddy Water!

Sharpedos Fled!

Sharpedos Came Back!

Save The Game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Continue?


	13. The Mind Blow Of All Time! Let's Go!

Chapter 13

Steven flipped me over and helped me to my feet. His eyes were determined, strong. There was something about how he held his hand at my waist that made me quiver at his touch. He drew me closer, like he wanted a kiss, but he stopped himself.

"After this," he promised. "I have to get even with Brendan." I was too into his touch to reply. I just wrapped my arms around him. I ignored the burning water against my flesh. I grabbed onto him tight and hugged as hard as I could. He hugged me back and picked me up to twirl me around. "Let's go," he whispered.

"Right," I replied. We separated, but he held his hand in mine. We both started up the stairs. Never before had I felt so determined, so powerful. I gripped his hand tightly. He gripped it back. As soon as we were above deck, the burning rain pummeled me. I was so overwhelmed that I dropped to my knees. Steven was quick; he threw his jacket over me. The burning stopped, but what injuries I had sustained were throbbing painfully.

"I'll be back," Steven promised before turning and darting off down the deck. I peeked from under his coat. There were Team Aqua goons. Everywhere. They were climbing up the sides of the boat like ants at a picnic. Brendan was fighting a horde of them coming from the right side of the ship and Steven was taking the left. Mr. Briney and Peeko were taking the few that managed to scale the steep front of the boat. I got to my feet and looked behind me, three pokeballs in my hand. As soon as I turned around, I saw that the back of the boat was slowly being overwhelmed by Team Aqua grunts.

"Sinbad, Plum, Eve, c'mon out!" I threw my pokeballs up in the air. They came out in the order I had called them in, each surprised by the downfall of water on their heads. For some reason, Eve seemed unperturbed by it. She was the first to strike out at the largest and meanest-looking of the grunts with her claws, slashing his shirt off before he could call out his pokemon. He stumbled back so far that he fell off the edge and splashed back into the water. Sinbad was the next to strike. He used razor leaf on the two grunts that were closest to us, knocking them into several others behind them. I watched a domino effect unfold before me. Right as soon as they were on the floor, Plum jumped forward and swept them away with a screech so loud that you could see the air vibrating in front of him. In fact, the entire ship dropped to their knees and covered their ears from the noise, including me and my other two pokemon.

As soon as he had finished his howl, all the aqua grunts started struggling their way to their feet, unsure of what had caused such a commotion. About half of them jumped off the ship, so concerned that a monster had raided the ship that they shouted until they hit the water. As soon as they surfaced, they either grabbed onto their sharpedo or swam away, quickly. There were about five grunts left for us to fight each. Steven's skarmory wiped them all out with one hit using swords dance. Brendan's marshtomp used mudslap on all of his enemies in one sweep, knocking them off the boat in a flurry. Peeko acted on her own, using whirlwind to send her enemies flying so far back that they almost blasted off the boat like Team Rocket. Plum had scared off all of my foes, so I turned back to them, raised my fist in the air in cheers, and began to laugh.

For some reason, their faces turned afraid when they met my eyes.

"What are you-"

I felt a hot, painful slithering sensation in my stomach. The sensation traveled from the back of my stomach forward, knocking me to my knees. Lightning flashed across my vision. I tasted blood flooding into my mouth. I tried to breathe, but the pain sent my mind spiraling. I tried getting to my feet, but something was keeping me in place.

"MEW!" Steven and Brendan shouted in unison. I lifting my tingling and weak hand to my stomach and accidentally cut myself on the sharpened tip of a seviper's tail. I felt the poison of the snake pokemon coursing through my veins. The power I had felt before was being eaten alive by the terrible pokemon. I could feel my heart slowing. Tears started staining the deck.

Steven tried to run towards me, but a gruff voice from behind me stopped him. I couldn't process the mans' words, but from the look on Steven's face, it was not good. I reached towards the champion with my weak arm. His face started straining. Tears began streaming down his cheeks. He dropped to his knees. The pain on his face made my heart shudder. Brendan, from behind him, clenched his fists. His red eyes were glowing so brightly that they shone through the darkness enveloping me. He grit his teeth so hard that blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"I've always… always wanted to fall in love…" I whispered to Steven. I couldn't see him anymore, but I knew my eyes were still open. "You… you gave me that chance. Th… thank you… Steven." I smiled as wide as I could without straining myself. "All of you…. Don't… don't mourn me." Then I passed unconscious.

I never really planned on dying. But if there was any way I knew I was sure to go, it was at the hands of a pokemon. It was not what I wanted, but what I had feared. With Eve, with Plum, with Sinbad, I had forgotten about it entirely. The happiness had outweighed my sense of safety. I had turned my back on an enemy I could have defeated.

And here I was. I could think. That was it. I couldn't hear anything, see anything, feel anything. It was like I had been placed in my own coffin deep under the soil already. It was so still that I felt like time had stopped ticking. Yet there was something soothing about it. The way the Earth was quiet was somewhat calming.

I opened my eyes. The stars: they were so beautiful. And so plentiful. This was not the Earth I knew, but a time long before humans and pokemon stood side by side, or before either of them even existed. A time I suddenly felt like I belonged in. I understood the calm now: there was nobody. Nothing. The Earth itself had stopped spinning.

Was I truly alone? The only living being on the planet, maybe in the universe? The thought scared me. I sat up. I had been lying on bedrock: one of the hardest rocks on Earth. It was supposed to be deep beneath the surface of Earth, so hard that even miners feared they would one day have to cross it. Here, it covering the entire Earth like a shell. There was no dirt, no ocean, just bedrock.

I stood up. The pain from the seviper tail was gone. That was probably because the wound was no longer there. No sign of scars, wounds, or blood. I was completely healed. Not only that, but my clothes had been replaced by a light pink dress that trailed out behind me so far that I could see no end to it. It matched my hair, which was just as long as the dress. The bedrock was so smooth that it didn't hurt to walk across it without any shoes. In fact, I was afraid I might slip.

I didn't quite know where to go. I just picked a direction and followed it. There was nothing to see on this empty and primitive Earth. There was just bedrock, the stars, and me. There was no way to measure how long I walked. There was no sun, no moon, no indication of how long had passed. When I came to a stop, there was no doubt it had been quite a long time.

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice asked from above. Mewtwo, his tail slashing at the air from high above, looked down at me with a somewhat angered frown. He dropped down slowly, touching the ground a few feet ahead of me. His lips didn't move as he spoke. "You're not supposed to be here yet."

"Yet?" I asked. I had spoken softly, but my voice carried the whole way around the planet, ringing in my surprised tone. "What are you saying?"

"You just started your adventure and you've almost died twice." His fleshy eyebrows came together. "I'm beginning to think that you are a failed experiment."

"Almost?" I asked. "Failed experiment?" He only stared at me. "Please tell me. I don't know who I am and why everyone is so interested in me. What am I? Where am I from? Why am I so important?"

"You are not 'so' important. You are utmost important," he answered simply. "You know of my origin. I am the clone of Mew: the pokemon of Creation. Mew was experimented on day and night, just as I was. But as soon as I escaped Giovanni and wrecked havoc on the world, he made plans that he make another clone. He started his experiment on a pregnant mother who lived in Saffron city, but the time was too short for him. Red intervened with his plans. He defeated him in a battle. He was forced to disband Team Rocket. As a result, the experiment went on without guidance."

"The experiment is… I'm…?" Mewtwo bowed his head.

"You are that baby he experimented on." He held his hand in the air. "Look at the sky, Mew. It is not created by you, it was not created by me. It was created by my clone, the original Mew. But Giovanni had his own plans. When he made me, he realized that a full-blooded pokemon clone was too powerful for this world. He took the remainder he had of Mew's DNA and implanted it in you when you were just a fetus. Your mother had no idea."

"Then am I-?"

"In a sense, yes, you are known as Mewthree." I dropped to my knees. "Do not fear, young one. The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."

"My parents…" I whispered, "Are they my real parents?" He bowed his head and closed his eyes.

"Yes. They are. But the rest of the story must be saved for later." He got to his feet and turned the other way. "Mew and I are immortal. Like Giovanni had realized, full-blooded pokemon were more powerful, too powerful. So you, being half-human and half-pokemon, were given ten lives. This is the first you have used. You have nine left."

"But, in Petalburg city?"

"Mew saved you then out of pity," he interrupted. "She is a kind and generous god. She thought it was too soon and too cruel to take a life from you then. In return, she bound herself to you. You'll soon learn of how that can be done." He turned back to me. "But as a half-god, you are the only one who can stop destruction of the world, just as Mew has, just as I have." He held out his hand. In his fleshy purple hand, there appeared a blue orb.

"No," I whispered. He nodded.

"The one who killed you has taken your body and is currently placing a blue orb inside it. If you are to be revived, you must accept the fate that these men have placed upon you." He hovered towards me. "You must host Groudon's and Kyogre's souls inside you. You will become the host of three powerful and godly pokemon. And when the time comes, you must stop the world from utter destruction. Do you vow to uphold all these spirits as your own and risk your life, all your lives, at the cost of this planet?"

"I do." He raised an eyebrow.

"No hesitation?"

"There's not much of a choice is there?" He didn't reply. "The world is beautiful. There is a lot of bad, but there is even more good. If I'm a god, I can change that, right?" His tail swished in interest. "I can save the world and make it better. I can right all the wrongs."

"You still have much to learn. You are still young and feeble. Let yourself ponder these things before you decide what to do with your power." He pressed the blue orb to my chest. It hurt just as much as the red orb had, but I forced myself not to wail. I let the orb enter the other side of my chest, settle itself, then leave the mark of Kyogre tattooed on me. I let out a deep breath, relieved it was much quicker than last time. "Are you ready to return?"

"Will you help me?"

"Help you?"

"If I'm in trouble, will you be there?" I clarified. He smirked. "I am not your babysitter. You are a god child. You should be fine on your own." He started to fade, along with the rest of the world. "Besides, Mew just might watch over you herself. What do you need me for?"

Mew Fainted!

Use Max Revive?

[YES] NO

Mew was Revived!

Save Game?

[YES] NO

Saving…

Game Saved!

Automatic Continue Activated!

Story Can No Longer Be Stopped!

Lives Left: 9

Part 2: Commence!


	14. Archie Is Pretty Cool For A Goon!

Chapter 14

"She's alive. The surgery was a success."

"She sure doesn't look alive."

"You should have thought of that before ending out your seviper. You've heard how pokemon act around her. You should have taken that into consideration."

"I didn't think my pokemon would take it to such lengths to kill her. I merely wanted to poison her enough to knock her unconscious. We got her anyway, that's all that should really matter."

"You said you sunk the ship? How did that happen with only you on board?"

"It wasn't me. The storm took the ship as its' own. You know how the sea can be. Just utterly marvelous."

"And the people on board?"

"Why should they matter? We got what we came for, the rest of them don't matter." Silence. "When will she wake? I need to see this for myself."

"In due time, sir. In due time."

I waited a long while. It took forever for them to babble on about how marvelous the sea was, how they still had to count the amount of grunts that had sustained injuries from the battle on the ship, and so forth. They had no information on Steven, Brendan, or Mr. Briney for me to tap into. I lie on the operating table, still as a statue, breathing only as needed. I could feel the red and blue orbs pulsing in my chest. They were restless. I wouldn't be able to sit still for much longer. I wanted to run, to find my pokemon, to find my friends.

Finally, the two of them left. The second they shut the door I opened my eyes and sat up. The tubes they had attached to me I tore out and threw on the ground. I observed the room. We were in a cave of some sort. It looked like they had set up shop here temporarily because everything was on wheels and powered by mobile batteries. There was no visible way out other than the door that the two men had obviously exited from. I looked down at myself.

They seriously put me in a Team Aqua outfit. Was that all they had? Seriously? I was tempted to rip it off, but it was this or nothing. I adjusted the skirt and midriff shirt before creeping up on the makeshift door they had put to cover the pathway out. I turned the handle slowly, ever so slowly, so slow that it didn't even look like it was moving. By the time I could push it open and peek through, I realized that there was no one nearby. I opened it quickly and shut it quietly behind me.

There were two ways I could travel towards: to the left and down some stairs, or forward and down a pathway that branched to the right. I considered going forward because delving deeper into this cave's depths seemed idiotic. But by the time I had decided, two aqua grunts were appearing from that hallway. I quickly darted to the left, hastily making my way down the stairs. By the time I entered the dark room, they had gone silent. Were there going into the room I had escaped from? If so, were they going to go looking for me?

I turned towards the path. There was a stairway up ahead of me. It rose about five feet before coming to a dead end. The wall that made up the dead end was no ordinary cave wall. It was a well-preserved, timeless piece of history. Depicted on the wall by ancient humans was the fearsome battle between Kyogre and Groudon. Above them was the mighty Rayquaza, a snake-like being with thunder as his ally. Yet for some reason, these three pokemon were not the same ones I had read about. These versions of Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza looked more powerful. They were glowing brightly and had odd markings on them that were not there before. It was like they evolved into something greater.

"Primal evolution."

I spun on my heel to look behind me. There stood a man who was more muscle than person. He wore Team Aqua gear, but like Maxie's, it had more time and effort put into it. He had a scraggly beard and a bandana masking the top of his head. Painted across his face was an X in black ink. It was clear that this was the leader of Team Aqua.

"There is not many places to hide here in Granite Cave, Mew." He began to ascend the stairs. I held out my hands, ready to fight, but he held up a hand. "I am no match for you now that I have implanted the blue orb inside your chest. I mean not to fight you, but to talk."

"If you want me to join the side of Kyogre, you are sadly mistaken," I told him straight off. He nodded and continued up the stairs.

"That is impossible with the red orb also in your chest. It appears Maxie beat us to you." I stared at him. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Archie, leader of Team Aqua. I have to say, our colors look good on you."

"I prefer my old clothes." He snorted softly.

"Then you prefer clothes soaked in blood and poison." He bowed slightly. "I am sorry for the unnecessary attack my seviper performed. I did not know the bloodlust pokemon have for you was so powerful. The only way to revive you was to place the blue orb in your chest."

"I know that was not the first thought you had, Archie," I countered. "I know you only want the blue orb in my chest to even yourself with Maxie. The fact that I was revived was sheer luck." He straightened himself.

"I see you are well-informed," he complimented. "Don't think of Team Aqua in a competition against Team Magma. We are only here to establish balance, like you said." He turned to the primitive painting. "For without balance, this world would have not been created."

"Groudon and Kyogre fighting does not sound like much balance to me."

"That is not balanced, I agree, Mew." He paused. "To balance two, there must be one." He gestured higher up in the painting, where Rayquaza flew. "For every two, there must be one to lead. For every group larger than that, there must be a leader. I am only a follower. You are a leader." There was a silence between the two of us.

"You said primal evolution," I reminded.

"Do you know what a mega evolution is?" Archie asked.

"I've heard of it. It was discovered in Kalos not too long ago."

"You are right." He put his hands behind his back, pondering. "For long, we thought that no pokemon could evolve into more than three different forms. We were proved wrong when several odd stones were found. They reacted to fully evolved pokemon and transformed them into such powerful pokemon, that history was made. People scoured the Earth in search of where these had come from, hoping to bring great strength to their pokemon. When several had been found, they looked to the source." He looked to the painting. "This ancient mystery was not here until the day the first mega stone appeared. It appears, that in some way and how, even legendary pokemon can mega evolve. But it is named differently: primal evolution."

"You're revealing a lot to your enemy," I whispered. He closed his eyes.

"I see you not as an enemy, Mew. I see you as a leader. I've heard of your potential, your past, and much more. You are no ordinary girl." He glanced at me sideways. "And you somehow came to that conclusion recently, have you not?" I didn't reply. "In other words, you have become somewhat of a god now that both orbs have been connected to your soul." If only he knew, I told myself quietly. "I wish to follow you into battle when the time arises. I'm not asking for you to answer now, but I ask that you consider my offer."

"Where are my friends?" I asked. "I need to find them."

"The last I saw the champion and your friend, they were jumping from the boat you were on as it sunk into the sea. A stray wave took the portside and knocked it under the surface like it was a toy." I waited for him to continue. "It was near this island, so I assume they are here, if not the many smaller islands nearby. The sailor found his way to shore this morning. He's staying at the pokemon center."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Only for a night."

"You're not going to stop me from leaving?" He shook his head. "You're a lot different than Maxie."

"I've heard that before. It doesn't make sense to compare totally different people, but I get the concept." He started down the stairs. "Follow me, I will show you to the exit."

He was true to his word. As soon as we exited the cave and stepped out into the light of day, he began to head back inside.

"Why do you think I should listen to you?" I asked, halting him.

"I could be lying, I could not." He glanced over his shoulder. "But it is up to you what action you take." Then he disappeared into the cave. I stood there for a short while, pondering. Then sense got the best of me and I started off towards Dewford. If what he said was right, MR. Briney would still be at the pokemon center.

Hopefully Steven and Brendan would be there, too.

Mew Arrived In Dewford Town!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	15. A Mysterious Espeon And A Gym Battle!

Chapter 15

I arrived in Dewford town about half an hour later. The citizens gave me some weird looks from what I was wearing, but I ignored it. I entered the pokecenter and almost right away I saw Mr. Briney. And after that I saw that he was unharmed except for a cut on his shoulder, which Peeko, from his shoulder, was licking. He caught sight of me and we both met in the center of the room.

"Hey, lass. What's…?" He gestured at my uniform.

"I was taken hostage by Team Aqua and they gave me a new look," I explained. "They just let me go."

"Just like that?" Mr. Briney put a hand on his cheek so Peeko would stop licking it. The bird cawed in annoyance. "I suppose you had to fight your way out of there, considering how hard they fought to get you."

"Not at all. The planted the blue orb in my chest and I walked out of there." He stared at me. I leaned in and whispered the explanation between the blue and red orbs and why I had them tattooed on my upper chest. He seemed confused, but how could you not expect that with a man his age? "Where are the others?" I asked.

"Steven managed to get your pokemon in their balls before the ship took a wave and sunk." The look on his face was devastating. I suddenly felt horrible. All that man really had was his boat. Maybe I could replace it one day? "He went overboard the same time your assailant did in hopes of catching him, but Archie, as you called, had a pokemon to ride on. He outran Steven without a look back."

"Is he here, you think?"

"I doubt it, lass. I've been here since morning and nobody has reported seeing him." He looked at the ground. "One would think this would be his first place to go, but there's been no sign of him."

"What about Brendan?" Mr. Briney rubbed his bald head in thought.

"That boy went after you, too. He followed Archie out of sight with that water pokemon of his, but if he's not with you, I'm not sure where else he could've gone." I sighed. Great, no leads. Nothing to go off of but a few assumptions. Maybe I should start at the shore and look for them. They knew how to swim, I'm sure. But I wanted to rule out the worst.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked.

"I have enough cash to get a ferry back to my house," he explained. "I hope I'll be able to get another boat." The look of dismay in his eyes was too much for me.

"Don't worry, I'll get you one." I spoke before I thought.

"What?" He blinked in surprise. "You're too young to afford such a thing."

"It was my fault that it was trashed. I'm sure I'll find a way to get it back to you." I paused. "Just head back home and wait. I'll find the others for now. You relax." His shoulders sagged.

"Why, thank you. You are quite the young lady." I smiled. "Oh, I managed to grab this before going under." He pulled out the newly-washed jacket Brendan had given me. I felt oddly happy about seeing it.

"How did you manage to grab it?" I pulled it up to my face. It had been sewn neatly back together from when I had been stabbed by the seviper. "And you fixed it?"

"You have to find a way to pass the time when you're stuck here," he said quietly. "I bought the materials and fixed it up. Looks unchanged, don't you think?"

"Yeah," I agreed. I didn't have my pokemon, my friends, or any of the stuff I had brought on that boat, but I had this jacket. I guess that was all I really needed, right? "Thank you so much, Mr. Briney."

"Anytime, lass. Anytime."

I walked the shore of Dewford up and down searching for anything that could show me where the others went. From the looks of it, the ship hadn't even been destroyed, just sunk. There was no rubble, no loose items, no nothing. Just a bunch of sand and water. Other than realizing I could touch water and not be burned anymore, it was a complete waste of time. I dropped on the sand and rested my elbows on my knees, pulling them close to my chest.

I had been stuck before, but never this stuck. I was beginning to feel sick at the thoughts that the two of them were lost at sea. There was something to be done, right? Something I could do? I was at more than a complete loss, so I did what desperate people did.

I prayed.

"Mewtwo, Mew, or whoever is out there, please help me," I whispered.

"Are you in need of a vacation?"

I leaned away from the obnoxiously loud voice. It was a man with unruly blue hair and swim trunks. Without his shirt he looked so perfectly fit that I felt uncomfortable showing off my muffintop in this skirt. Behind him, a crowd of people who were obvious tourists took pictures of the surrounding areas. I got to my feet and dusted the sand off me.

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't look like you're around here," he examined. "Kanto region?" I blinked.

"How did you know?" He picked up the collar of my jacket gently. "Oh, that? I got it from a friend."

"I don't know about you, but that jacket wouldn't be worn by anyone this island, let alone this region." I wasn't sure if he was being rude or just being honest, so I just stared. "Like I said, you look like you need to go on vacation."

"Actually, I just need a way to Slateport," I corrected. If there was anywhere else that I needed to go, it was there. It's the nearest place next to Dewford. I reached into my pocket to retrieve my PokeNav, but it had been washed away. My heart sunk a little bit. The bodybuilder with blue hair scratched behind his head.

"Well, the tour doesn't go that far."

"What tour?"

"To the abandoned ship." He gestured with his eyes towards the sea stretched out before us. "It's a tourist attraction now. We're still trying to unravel the mysteries about it, but the research is funded by tours and sightseers." I reached into my pocket again. No money. He saw the look of despair on my face. "You out of cash?"

"Yeah." I pulled my hand out of my pocket and an ultra ball fell out onto the sand. Now when had I gotten that? It couldn't have been Brendans', all his pokemon were in the PC. Was it Stevens'? I picked it up and threw it. Out of it came out an espeon. The pokemon looked around, confused, before setting eyes on me. Not me, mainly my jacket.

"Espeon?" she asked.

"Hey, you got a pokemon," he observed. "How about a battle?"

"Wh-what? You battle, too?" Espeon watched with observant eyes as the pokemon trainer began explaining.

"I'm actually the gym leader of this town. You can call me Brawly. But the storms lately have prevented trainers from reaching me. So I've been volunteering with the tours to keep me busy." He pointed to the pokemon I had found in my pocket. "From the looks of it, your pokemon is strong enough to beat me in battle. You only have one, so I'll only use one of my own. Say, are you challenging the pokemon league? You can compete for a badge, if you'd like."

"N-no, I don't have any-" The espeon interrupted me by bumping against my leg. She looked up to me and purred softly. She wanted to battle. But with me? What made her trust me so much? "U-um, sure. I'll battle you." Brawly smiled wide.

"Alright! I'll clear the way for a battle and we can start here. If you win, you get the badge and a free tour to the abandoned ship. I might even take ya to Slateport. But if you lose…" He grabbed his chin gently, rubbing the stubble of his beard in thought. "If you lose, you can't battle me again until the next tour."

"When is that?"

"About a week from now." I looked at the espeon at my feet. She smiled and swished her tail in the air.

"Peon," she chimed. Well, I guess I had her answer. I faced the gym leader and balled my fist in front of him.

"Alright, I accept your challenge on those terms." He laughed.

"Getting fired up already? You're quite the hotshot. Let me go clear up the tourists." As soon as he was gone, I leaned down to the espeon. She blinked her bright eyes at me cutely.

"Look, I don't know whose pokemon you are, but I need to know your moves so I can convince him you're mine and we don't get banned or whatever."

"Oh, sure. I know Psycho Boost, Synchronize, Calm Mind, and Reflect." I stared at her. Did she just talk? I leaned in closer and touched her ear. She flicked it. "I'm quite real, Mew." I stood up straight and looked around. Then I knelt in front of her.

"You're actually talking like a human." She nodded.

"Yes. I do that around people I know I can trust." She sat down. "You have an unusual air about you. It made me want to attack you at you at first. But I've been trained to behave thusly."

"Who trained you?" She looked up towards the sky, as if thinking, but I knew right away it was just to mock me. "Alright, ignore that. So you'll help me get to the others?"

"I'll help you, but I want something in return."

"What could you want from me? I've lost everything in that ship, including my friends." I held out my hands. "The only thing I have left is this jacket that you came in."

"I want pokeblocks." I paused. "Pokeblocks," she said again. "My trainer hasn't fed me any yet. I want to try some that god herself makes."

"Ssh," I said, glancing over my shoulder to make sure that Brawly hadn't heard. He was just talking to a referee when I saw him. I turned back to her. "Ok, ok. But don't tell anyone that I'm god or something. It's… just not something you should be saying loudly."

"I don't talk to others in your language. I made an exception for you because you happen to be," she stopped herself. "You happen to be special."

"Thank you, Espeon."

"Not a problem, Mew." I stood up right when the ref called us to face each other. I swallowed. Hopefully this pokemon wouldn't throw the battle. What type of pokemon did this guy have anyway? I held out Espeon's ultra ball, even though she was already out, when the ref commanded it. Mewtwo and Mew had heard my prayer. "Thanks," I mumbled. "I hope this is what you want me to do." A breeze blew through my hair, tossing it behind me.

I took it as a yes.

Leader Brawly Would Like To Battle!

Mew Sent Out Espeon!

Espeon Looked Back At Mew And Nodded In Understanding!

Battle Start!

Saving…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…


	16. The Abandoned Ship isn't Empty!

Chapter 16

Brawly threw out his pokeball, shouting, "Makuhita, I choose you!" As soon as the pokemon touched foot, on the ground, I shouted, "Espeon, use Psycho Boost!" The moment I finished speaking, she darted forward. A beam started protruding from her head and hit the leader's pokemon with such ease that it was a critical hit. The Makuhita let out a surprised yelp and flew backwards. As soon as he landed a ways behind Brawly, his eyes turned into swirls.

"Makuhita is unable to battle! Win goes to Mew and her espeon!" I put my hands on the side of my head. This pokemon I stumbled across was a beast! Who in the right mind would lose her? Brawly seemed to realize that as well. He returned his pokemon and faced me, an untrusting look in his expression. I smiled nervously.

"I did some practicing while in Kanto," I lied. He didn't want to believe it, but from the look on his face, he got over it quickly. He beckoned towards me. I walked over to him, leaving espeon out of her ball. I had a feeling she wanted to listen to his conversation. The gym leader held out his hand, offering me the badge. I took it from him delicately.

"The tour leaves in a few minutes. Get ready to get to the abandoned ship." Then he turned away and started off towards the shore, where a large boat large enough to fit about one hundred people who being untied. Espeon hopped onto my shoulder.

"I feel as if he did not like you," she whispered. I bit my lip.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." I looked to her. "Did you have to make a scene like that? You're drawing an awful lot of attention to me and I haven't known you for more than an hour."

"I'm going to be honest with you, godling," she smiled, baring her razor sharp fangs. "That was the lightest hit I could manage." A bead of sweat trickled down the side of my head.

"What… what level are you?" She raised her eyes to the sky again. "Forget I asked that. Just try a little harder to keep it on the downlow. I don't need to be targeted by anyone else."

"I'll do what I must." Then she returned herself to her pokeball, which I didn't even know you could do. As soon as we finished talking, the tourists started boarding the boat. I got in the back of the line, putting Espeon's ultra ball back in my pocket. I had a pokemon with me and a way to Slateport. Things were looking good. But now I was a somewhat of a fascination for passer bys. I got in the most crowded area of the boat, happy that no one got up to move and leave me, and remained silent as we began to travel across the waves.

There wasn't much to see out there. Just some rocks, some tiny, tiny islands, and a few people swimming around. Unlike the day before, the sky was bright and clear. I reminded me somewhat of when I had died and looked up towards the stars. There was more stars than sky there. However, I didn't feel the need to go back. It had been a scary trip.

The boat slowed down in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. I looked around. Complete ocean surrounded us. There was no real scenery to take pictures of nor people to talk to. I began to feel as if we had stopped on accident.

"Does anyone have an electric pokemon?" someone asked from the front. "The engine has run out of battery!" Everyone on board looked about themselves, questioning each other with gazes. When they looked to me, I just shook my head. "That makes no sense," the captain of the ship continued. "I just charged the battery before we left."

"Hey, god child," called a voice from within my head. I froze. Was that espeon speaking to me from inside the pokeball? And saying it within my mind? "Yes, I am, now listen. There's no electric type on this ship, nor any water pokemon to push it. You need to charge it." I didn't know how to reply through my mind so I just sorta visualized a question mark. "You are Mewthree, are you not?"

How did she know that?

"Psychic types are close to their almighty," she explained. "Mew can transform or use the move of any pokemon, so I need you to use your powers to charge the boat with just a quick spark."

How?

"Close your eyes. Picture the engine. And use an electric type move powerful enough to charge it but not completely destroy it. Like Spark. You think you can do that?" I nodded, realized she couldn't see, and confirmed her words in my mind.

I tucked my chin into my chest. The world around me went black, including my other senses. I reached out with my mind to find the engine. I could see the souls of everyone around me, quietly muttering between each other. I could feel the pokemon at the bottom of the sea and those burrowed deeper than that, deep into the earths' crust. I stopped straying so far and focused on the engine, which was just a few feet in front of me. It was slowly beginning to fade, having lost its' electrical ability. I didn't quite know how to use a pokemon power, so I pictured the machine humming to life. Right away, I felt power drain from me slightly. When it did, the engine roared to life, startling me.

I opened my eyes. The crew was looking towards the engine, a surprised look on their faces. The captain gave a quick press of the accelerator, and the boat lurched forward. His gaze was just as surprised as everyone of his crew, but the tourists started cheering. They thought it was some sort of show, I guessed. Brawly just urged them to continue. And when they did, we continued on through the expanse of ocean.

A few minutes later, the boat veered to the left. The tourists started standing to try and get a view of what was approaching from the front. I tried to get a glimpse, but the crowd was pressing too hard to be able to do so. I leaned back in my seat, hands folded in my lap. I was sure it was the ship, but that didn't help ease my anxiety. What if neither of the boys were there? What if I never found them? I shivered.

"Don't think about that," Espeon said in my head softly. "They're not dead. You all survived the wreck." I let out a loud sigh. The guy closest to me to stare before returning to take pictures. "They are both alive, but that is all I can tell. I cannot tell where they are or if they are in danger, however."

How do you know?

"Psychic types are weak to ghost types, as you know. When a human dies, we are able to feel their soul passing on, as if it were an enemy we need to fight. But that has not been the case since the ship went down. That leads me to the conclusion that they are both very much alive."

Thank you so much, Espeon.

"Anything for a god." I wasn't sure if that was sarcasm, but with her, who could tell? The boat began to slow and pull up along a huge ship. This was nothing like Mr. Briney's boat. This was a luxury liner that had tried to turn around to avoid a large barrier of boulders but ended up scraping the side of the boat and sinking the back half of the ship beneath the waves. The front of the ship had climbed a large boulder and rested on it, where it was stable enough for people to board it. It was covered and moss, holes, and rusted to the point of being ancient art, but if they were letting people on it the chances of it being reinforced was high.

The tour boat was half empty by the time I had finished observing it. I stepped off with the last of the tourists. As soon as I was on board, Brawly begin talking about the history of the ship. I tuned in for about two minutes before slipping away and up towards the front of the boat. It was angled more and more upwards. I was about to turn back when I heard the water under the deck shift. I stepped backwards, dumbly trying to see what was happening when I slipped and fell on my butt. The force was hard enough to break the molded floorboards and break to the underside, where I landed in fresh ocean water.

As surprised as I was to be dropped into icy-cold water, it was actually fascinating to see the beauty that this ship still had. The ballroom that I had landed in was completely submerged, but the chandelier and dance floor was untouched. The broken shards of glass that hovered around me were now reflecting the light that poured in from the hole I had dropped from. From underwater the light shimmered and danced with the waves, giving the illusion that a DJ was flashing the room with all sorts of colorful and bright lights. All that was missing was the people dancing about.

"How long do you plan to stay underwater?" Espeon asked from inside her pokeball. I hadn't even noticed I had been under for so long. I wasn't even in desperate need of air. "You are all the pokemon in one, Mew. That means that, like water pokemon, you can breathe underwater."

"Right," I said, surprised that it came out so clearly underwater. I started swimming around the room. From closer up, I could see that it was molding and rusting, but it was still beautiful. I wish the could restore the ship somehow. It's such a waste to let it slowly die here.

I felt a current push past and darted backwards, surprised. I thought someone had dove in after me, but it turned out that there was nothing in the room with me. I turned this way and that way, even spun around a full circle. There was nothing. Maybe a current had come in front one of the holes in the outer shell?

Wait a minute. I looked closer at where the current had come from. There was a stairwell at the end of the room leading downwards. The current was coming from there in a steady stream until I looked directly at it. It was then that it stopped. The water was still once again.

"It seems as if there is something down there," Espeon observed. "Not something, but a pokemon."

"Would you like to come out and see for yourself?" I asked.

"I am no water pokemon. I am fine within here. Continue your journey, I will access my sight through your own." It sounded weird, but I ignored it. I began to swim down from the roof of the room towards the stairwell. Using the railing as a guideline, I dove further down into the ship. From the outside, the ship looked pretty big. But from the inside, it was even larger. I entered a stairwell that seemed to go down twenty stories. I released the railing and dove straight down the center, where I tried to glance at every hallway I passed.

On floor lead to the luxury rooms, about five for the middle class, and the rest for the lower class, excluding the lowest corridor, where the cargo was held. It was there that I came across a graveyard of old clothes, teddy bears, suitcases, and other items like books and toiletries. They hovered around me like dead fish in an aquarium.

"Achi," I heard a pokemon call.

I spun around, heart racing. For some reason, being this deep in the ship scared the hell out of me. I know I could breathe underwater and otherwise break my way out in case of an emergency, but not seeing other life form until now was sort of startling.

"Hello?" I called.

"Achiiii!" the pokemon replied, his voice rippling the water with its' might. I covered my ears. It was coming from hallway that led from the stairway, down to the cargo hold, out into a room that was an extra-spacious room for first-class packages. I swam in there and hit an iron door. "Achiiii!" the pokemon called again, this time from behind the door. I tried opening the door, but like how it was in Petalburg city, it was stuck shut. Plum opened it with his psychic power back then, I remembered. Maybe I could do it on my own?

I pictured the door swinging open, but it must've been pictured too clearly or I pictured it opening too quick, because the door swung open, unhinged itself and buckled inwards. I was sucked inside, where I entered a room that had been devoid of water. Because I had knocked off the door, the old and broken ship shuddered. A large piece of debris floated down from above and tried to enter the now damp room and instead lodged itself in the hole. The flow of water stopped and I found myself trapped in a room that had no way out. But I couldn't have been more relieved.

Because lying on the floor, unconscious and ragged, was Steven.

Mew Used Dive!

Mew Dove Deep Into The Ship!

Mew Used Psychic!

Mew Discovered An Abandoned Cavern!

Saving…

Game Saved!


	17. HoennChampShipping Ahoy! Are We Goners!

Chapter 17

"Steven," I choked, almost ready to cry. I crawled over and pulled him out of the water and into my arms, where I pat him on the back. He began coughing up water, gasping for air at the same time. I tried not to hug him too tightly, but it was almost too much to fight it. I reached for his hand, but it had been tied behind his back in a tight and uncomfortable knot. While he continued to empty his lungs, I undid the ropes.

He sagged over me for a minute, catching his breath. I hugged onto him tightly and buried my face in his shoulder. Thank Arceus he was alive! I couldn't have been more relieved. I felt him lift his chin to look around, but he was too tired to do more than lean into me.

"Mew," he whispered. "How did you get here? I thought Team Aqua captured you. And all this water," he added. "Aren't you in terrible pain?" Without pulling him away to meet his eyes, I began to explain all that happened, from the shipwreck to the blue orb to the gym battle to where we were now. I even told him all about my meeting with Mewtwo and what he had told me. Steven went exceptionally quiet at that part. "You're not lying to me, Mew?"

"I swear, it's all true." He leaned back weakly. I supported him by the shoulder before he could fall back into the water on the floor. "Who did this to you?"

"Team Aqua. As soon as they saw that I was following you and Archie to Dewford and they took me hostage." He put a hand on his cheek, where a bruise was beginning to form. I reached forward to touch it, but he shrunk from me. Then, when he met my eyes, he allowed me to run my hands across it. The skin my hand touched became healthy and returned to normal. He shivered from the feel of it. When I had finished, there was no sign that a mark had even been there. "You weren't lying," he said. "You are Mewthree, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't ever lie to you." I looked into his eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner." He took a hold of my hand.

"You came this far for me. That's all that really matters." His eyes turned sorrowful. "I thought they had killed you for good back on the boat. I thought they were only taking you away to throw you away into the sea."

"I'm stronger than that." He took my other hand in his and put them around him, tugging me closer. I pressed myself into his chest. He still smelt like strawberries, even after being beaten and thrown into an old boat. "Steven, I don't want you to ever leave again. If you go anywhere to do champion business, I'm going with you."

"You know I can't-" I released his hand and pounded my fist against his chest.

"I don't care!" I shouted. "I almost lost you!" I faced him. "Do you think I could have lived with myself if you were killed trying to save me?! Do you think I would've been able to continue?!"

"How do you think I felt?!" he shouted back. Tears started forming in his eyes. "You died in front of me! I left you by yourself for one minute and you were killed! It's a miracle that you're still here! If you weren't, what would I have done?! I can't return my everyday life knowing I let you get away!" He opened his mouth to say more but stopped when he saw the tears running down my cheeks. I started silently crying.

"Is it too soon to say that you're the one I want to be with?" I whispered. "I… I never felt worse than seeing you give up there on the boat before they took me away." I leaned back into his chest. "There's nothing that scares me more than death other than knowing that I couldn't be with you." He pulled me close to him, moving my head from his chest to over his shoulder.

He delicately put his lips against my neck, kissing me. I let the tears stream down my face as he continued to kiss me, up and down my neck. He drew me closer and gently squeezed my waist, exposed by the Team Aqua uniform. I went limp when he began biting my shoulder softly. I leaned into him and he pushed me backwards, pinning me down when I tried to get up.

The look in his eyes was so intense that my heart started thumping against my chest so hard it almost hurt. I couldn't look away. I let him hold me down to lean forward and kiss me. Right on the lips. He kept his stance firm but I knew he felt just as loose as I felt. He withdrew to breathe. He was panting.

"Relax," I said, holding his hands from under the water. "It's just kissing." He looked to me again.

"R-right," he whispered. But I could tell by how red he was in the face that it was hard for him to try and keep calm. I asked him to release me, which he did, and I lie down on my side, gesturing for him to do the same. He did. This time it was I that kissed him, putting my hands on the back of his head and pulling his closer. He went so limp that I had afraid he'd passed out. When I pulled away, his face was still red, but he looked like he was in heaven. "I'm…" He stopped to pant. "I'm ahead of Brendan now." He kissed me again, this time pulling me so close that I feared he would crush me. Yet I still kissed him and kissed him. He was getting more and more romantic with the kisses. My heart was ready to explode. We both took a break and he whispered, "Don't let him ever pull ahead again, ok?" He put his hand on my cheek. Water from the floor dripped down my face and he was quick to wipe it away. "You're mine, now. I'm not letting you leave my sight again."

"Does that mean?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes, we are dating." He hugged me and rolled me on top of him, where he stroked my wet hair. "Boyfriend and girlfriend." He paused. "If that's what you want."

"I wouldn't want it any other way." I hugged him.

A loud boom echoed in the distance, frightening both of us. We sat up, exhausted, covered in water, and red as strawberries. As soon as the noise faded, a ripped and shuddering sound followed it. The ship lurched backwards, taking us with it. We both hit the back wall from the sudden shift. I grabbed Steven and pulled him above the water. He took me under his arm and held me close.

"We have to get out of here," he said. "The ship just gave way."

"What does that mean?" I asked it, but I already knew the answer. The ship was sinking.

And we were trapped.

Steven Used Attract!

It's Super Effective!

Mew Is Infatuated!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…


	18. Reunited Again! The Journey Continues!

Chapter 18

Steven grabbed my hand and drew a pokeball from his jacket, revealing a metagross. The pokemon was so big that it almost took up the entire room. As soon as the pokemon materialized, Steven jumped on top of him, taking me up with him. He pulled me close and pointed to the ceiling.

"Metagross, meteor mash!" he shouted. The pokemons' legs turned upside down and we somehow still managed to levitate. There was a brief pause before the pokemon rocketed towards the ceiling, destroying it with a single punch from each arm. Water washed over us and I was almost swept away until Steven wrapped his arm around me, firmly grabbing onto his pokemon with the other. His metagross let the water fill the empty room below us before taking off slowly through the water.

Another boom echoed in the distance, this time louder. The water shifted to the right, dragging the massive pokemon and the both of us back with it. Steven fell off and sheathed his pokemon when he realized that it could not move as smoothly through water as he thought. Instead, I grabbed him and began swimming upwards. We weren't taking the way out I had entered from, but I could find my way out. I just focused on where the water was flooding through and followed it, using the powerful swimming ways of a pokemon to do so.

Steven kept a tight grip on me. We had just entered the stairway I had dove down into when I felt his grip fading. I caught him before he was swept away in the current and brought his lips to mine, where I breathed fresh air into his lungs. His partly-lidded eyes opened. I pressed my forehead gently against his before continuing.

When we had swam up pretty far, another boom echoed. A piece of debris dropped from the ceiling and began plummeting right towards us. I released Steven, even though I had to pry him off me, before summoning the power of a steel type. My arm, as I hoped it would, turned into a sharpened blade. As soon as the large piece of metal came hurdling at me, I sliced it into a thousand tiny shards of shrapnel using super speed and amazing precision. As soon as the pieces settled, a hole to the surface was left in its' wake.

I swam back down and grabbed Steven, breathing another full breath of air into his lungs before taking ahold of him around the chest and began pulling him to the surface. To my dismay, when we reached the surface and caught our breath, we found ourselves in a different room. There was no light of day shining above us through the floorboards like I had expected. It had gone dark, and I was sure it wasn't night time.

"We just need to fly upwards," Steven examined. "Skarmory should be able to do the trick." But when he pulled out Skarmory's poke ball, our work had been done. An explosion took the top of the ship off. If it hadn't been for Steven, I would have stayed above the surface like an idiot and been burned. He dragged me underwater, where more chunks of metal began to fall. I crossed my arms and summoned a reflect screen so strong that the first couple chunks of metal dented upon impact. When they had hit, though, I was suddenly so drained of energy I black out for a few seconds. When I came to, I forced myself to do it again. I managed to stop and push away the obstacles that would be harder to dodge, but I let a few through, checking on Steven to make sure none had hit him.

He was clinging onto my shoulder, watching me with supportive eyes. I nodded at him and we surfaced again, keeping our eyes to the sky to make sure that nothing else fell. The path was clear, the hole wide, and the sun brilliant above us. Steven called out his skarmory and we hopped on the back of her. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"She's my girlfriend," Steven clarified. The bird just shook her head and opened her wings, flapping them violently before she could take to the air. When we were above the water, the steel type did a quick circling of the inside of the building before having enough momentum to soar through the exit. When she did, I looked back. The ship hadn't just dislodged itself, it had been completely blown to bits. It seemed obvious by who.

"Team Aqua wanted me dead for sure," Steven confirmed. "Or they must've known that was going to happen if they left me there."

"Archie told me he was just a follower," I whispered. "I guess you can't trust any of those teams."

"Speaking of teams." Steven released the horn on his pokemons' head before handing me three pokeballs: my pokemon. "I managed to grab them all before they dove off to try and help you."

"Thanks, Steven." He glanced back at me, smiling. This wasn't his everyday stay-cool-looking smile. It was his real smile. Something I hoped I would see a lot of.

"Thank you, Mew." He flipped his hair out of his face. "Should we let your parents know what happened back there?" My face turned brilliant red.

"U-um, I'm not quite sure if they should know that yet." He chuckled.

"Alright, we'll announce it later." He faced forward. "We have to find Brendan. If he's smart, he should be in Slateport."

"I don't think he's there," I corrected. Before Steven could think to speak, he looked where I was pointing. Down below us on the back of his marshtomp was Brendan, smiling wide and waving with both arms.

We were all back together.

Team Aqua Used Explosion!

Mew And Steven Dodged The Attack!

Steven Sent Out Skarmory!

Skarmory Used Fly!

Mew And Steven Escaped Safely!

Saving…

Game Saved!


	19. Love Rivals Or Soon-To-Be Bros?

Chapter 19

"Thank god you have a flying type, Steve-o," Brendan commented, retrieving marshtomp and jumping on the skarmory. "Will she be able to hold all of us?"

"I'm pretty sure she can handle it," Steven replied. "And don't call me Steve-o. It sounds like the name of a character in a failed movie production." Skarmory took off in a flurry of wingbeats and splashes. As soon as we were in the air, Brendan just shrugged and wrapped his arms around me, a little too prepared for take off. Steven eyed me for permission. I nodded. "We're together now," he stated simply.

Brendan paused. "Yeah…" he said slowly. "I realized that when you found me floating next to the ship you two sunk. We can go to Slateport now. Together." I buried my face in my hands. If there was anyone who could make this harder than it needed to be, it was Brendan.

"Brendan, Mew and I are dating." Now it seemed to get through to him. His mouth formed an O. Steven kept his gaze on him, ready for any sort of comeback. It took a little less than a minute for him to formulate a reply.

"Sounds pretty cool," he finally said. He put a hand on my shoulder. "But she's my friend, and you're not going to change that anytime soon, Steve-o." The champion narrowed his eyes at him. "Sorry, I meant Steven."

Great, now they were fighting again. Was Brendan really as cool with this as he seemed? Or was this the calm before the storm? I guess only time would tell. There was definitely going to be something. If Brendan kept up calling Steven Steve-o, I'm sure one of them one of them would have to break the combo.

"Where were you?" I asked, attempting to stop them from bickering more. "Where have you been this whole while?" Brendan took a moment to think. Did he really need to think about it?

Well, as soon as the boat started going under, I saw your boyfriend chasing after the guy who owned the seviper. I left that up to him and managed to retrieve all this." He reached into his jacket and pulled out the bags of items he had bought and given to us back in Rustboro. "I couldn't find either of you two while in Dewford, so I spent some money and got on the tour to the abandoned ship. As soon as I got there, an explosion went off, so I helped evacuate everyone. After that, you two found me."

"Sounds awfully boring," I commented. He laughed.

"To you it may be, but I got quite a bit done while waiting for a tour boat. Training marshtomp and caught this guy." He held out a great ball. "A shroomish. Found him almost torn apart by a sharpedo when we went overboard and captured him as an instinct." He smiled. "She's actually pretty cute." Steven snorted, mumbling to himself. Brendan ignored him. "What happened with you two when we got separated?"

I began explaining our story. Steven looked as if he didn't want me to tell him about the whole mewthree thing, but I told him anyway. The look on his face was slightly surprised. I had a feeling he was masking a lot of his bewilderment for my sake. When it came to the part about us escaping from the boat, he seemed more interested.

"Team Aqua blew up the boat to kill Steve-o?" The champion glanced back at him. "Why would they want you dead so badly? They sound like they're trying to influence Mew's decision to lead them by getting us out of the way," he said.

"Influence my decision?" I asked.

"Well, by the sounds of it, you were really into believing that Team Aqua only wanted to get even and that they wanted you to lead them. To keep it like that, they wanted to make sure that nobody else influenced your choice. So when they saw that Steve-o was trying hard to save you, they tried to kill him and make it look like his death was an accident out at sea." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a good thing you found him when you did."

"Did you come across any Team Aqua members?" Steven asked.

"I was in public too much for them to try and attack me, I guess." He paused. "And we need to get you back in your old clothes. That outfit won't do around Slateport. That hate both Team Magma and Team Aqua."

"Too late to go back," Steven interrupted. I leaned over the side of the skarmory just a little bit. Below us was sandy beach. It was so large that dozens of people had set up towels, umbrellas, and even a few cool-looking shops. Trainers battled and pokemon played in the sand with kids. "Slateport beach is right below us. Mew, stay on the beach with Brendan. I'll go get you some clothes so we don't get targeted."

I was about to reply when the skarmory dove downwards. Brendan and I leaned forward behind the champion to avoid being buffeted by the air. It took a few seconds to reach the right altitude and the bird opened her wings, landing delicately on the sand like an angel. As unusual as we looked, it didn't seem to draw much attention. Everybody was too preoccupied with having fun to notice a girl dressed as Team Aqua, the champion, and an average kid land on the beach with an overpowered steel type pokemon.

We all hopped off. Steven nodded at me before heading towards the town in the distance. As soon as he was out of earshot, Brendan nudged me with his elbow a bit harder than necessary in my ribs.

"Let's battle some of these trainers before he gets back. He can't be the only one with overpowered pokemon." I reached into my coat. There were three pokeballs, but the ultra ball that had espeon in it had disappeared. I reached all around my jacket to try and find her, but there was no sign of her anywhere. "What are you looking for?"

"The ultra ball the espeon came in," I reminded. "She helped me out this whole way, I hope I didn't lose her in the ship." Brendan pat me on the back.

"Don't worry. I don't think she's the type of pokemon who would let herself get lost." I paused to look at him. He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she went back to her trainer."

"But…" He raised an eyebrow at me. "I promised I'd get her some pokeblocks." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Um… pokeblocks? The things you feed pokemon?"

"Yeah. She said her trainer never really gave her any so she wanted me to get her some for herself." He went silent, as if lulling over the thought in this mind. He was really thinking hard about it for some reason.

"If she's strong enough to tell you, a complete stranger, about wanting pokeblocks, than I'm sure she will be plenty strong enough to bring it up with her own trainer." Then he smiled and hooked his elbow around mine. "C'mon, that snack shop over there probably has a ton of trainers in it." He began to drag me toward the shop that trainers were walking out of with arms of soft drinks to give out.

As soon as we were inside, a pair of hexes caught our eyes.

"Battle!" they hissed in uncanny unison, drawing their poke balls. Brendan released me and slapped me on the back.

"Sounds like a great time! We accept your challenge!" He threw out a pokeball of his own, revealing the shroomish he had talked about on the way here. I instinctively throw out sinbad, who did a little flip before landing on the floorboards flawlessly.

For the next half hour to an hour, that was what we did. Battle with all of our pokemon, defeating countless fairy tale girls, hexes, delinquents, and more. The two of our pokemon worked hand in hand to target each pokemon despite their weaknesses or strengths. It was almost as if Brendans' pokemon had bonded with mine somehow. Now after every battle they would do a little dance that was sketchy at first but eventually turned into a first-class masterpiece. Battle after battle we fought, and soon the whole shop had been cleared of trainers who wanted to battle.

We had beaten them all.

The man up front clapped his hands in congratulations and beckoned us up to him. When we approached, he had prepared a dozen soda pops. We split them and downed the first couple by ourselves, laughing. Brendan might've been a little sore to Steven about the whole dating thing, but now that him and I were alone, it was a little easier to destress. He seemed happier now. It was like the weight had been lifted off his shoulders during the time we had been separated.

"You've always wanted a best friend, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I never had one growing up." He tilted his head sweetly. "What? Did I say something funny?"

"No, it's just so much has changed since you've come to hoenn, and you haven't let it affect your mood except for the best." I blushed. "You said you never had friends or pokemon of your own, but ever since," he paused realizing people were coming in from outside, "you know. Ever since then, you've been doing everything just like any other pokemon trainer. You're probably a lot better than the rest of this region in experience."

"Oh, thanks." I didn't know what to say.

"And if you'd let me, I don't mind being your best friend." I met his eyes. They were happy, kind. "I hope that dating Steven doesn't interfere with that. I won't let it if you don't."

"Of course," I replied. "You'll always be my first and best friend." This time, he blushed.

"Thanks, Mew."

"Thank you, Brendan." He stepped up to me and hugged me. I let him embrace me and put my head against his chest. His heart wasn't beating fast, as I expected it to. It was beating just as calm and relaxed as it always was. I wrapped my arms around him and gave a gentle squeeze before pulling away.

"C'mon, Steve-o is probably waiting for us outside." We started towards the door.

"You know how much he hates being called that," I reminded.

"He'll get over it."

"Or you could stop."

"Nah, he'll get over it." I rolled my eyes at him. "Alright, I'll go a little easier on him."

We stepped out into the sunlight where Steven was just approaching the soft drink shack. He greeted us by lifting his hand and putting it back at his side. For some reason, he was holding up a bizarrely bright and colorful dress with cute pokemon accessories and hair clips. I stared at him, to the clothes, back to him. He chuckled and held it out to me.

"I'm not wearing that," I stated. He laughed.

"You have to. I signed you up for a pokemon contest." I froze at the words. "Lisia is in town and she wanted the best of the best to go up against her. She saw me and asked if I knew anyone, and by chance, your name popped into my mind."

"Steven, I've never been in a contest," I whispered. "How am I supposed to go up against someone like her with no experience?"

"The competition is tomorrow," Brendan recalled. "So that gives us all night to practice."

"Wh-what? I never agreed to this! I'm not going!" I turned away and crossed my arms, done with the conversation. Well, I thought I was, until Steven came by and gently kissed my cheek. My face started heating up brilliantly.

"You won't do it for your boyfriend?" he asked in a sad tone. I didn't say anything. "What if I told you that I got some berries we can turn into pokeblocks?" Ignoring him was getting harder and harder. "I also got combusken a cute dress to match yours." I turned and swatted the dress from him.

"I'll do it this once," I swore. Then I led myself to the changing room, where the curtain slipped shut behind me. I heard the two of them laughing out there as I changed.

"I'll enter with her," Brendan said. "Care to join?"

"Displaying a champion's pokemon for everyone to see is against the rules. It makes future challengers more prepared and harder to beat." There was a pause. "But I can show you two how to perform. I've seen quite a few in my time."

"Thanks, Steven." There was another pause. "What? Surprised I called you that?"

"Slightly."

"Enjoy it while you can, I'm only doing it for a while." I rolled my eyes from inside the changing room.

Were they ever going to get along?

Brendan Joined The Team!

Mew, Steven, And Brendan Arrived At Slateport!

Mew Received Contest Clothes!

Saving…

Game Saved!


	20. My First Contest, Ruined!

Chapter 20

I don't know why I accepted it. I had no idea what I was getting into, but when I slipped into that outfit, all that I knew became obscenely clear. I was drop dead gorgeous as a model. The neon orange dress flared at the waist like an overly-starched tutu. The tights fit perfect and the sleeves were just the same, a hole cut through them for my thumb to fit through and patterns of combuskens' claws designed to make me match Eve. My shoes had been painted to match combuskens' feet as well, and the bow that Brendan had tied up in my hair made it flare out like Eve's head feathers.

"Busken," she approved. Sinbad and Plum were playing in the sand nearby, and having seen me step out from the changing station, got to their feet and began applauding. Well, Plum clapped. Sinbad just jumped up in the air and tried to smack his feet together to produce the same effect. I did a little twirl, surprised that some of the glitter came off when I did.

"It's meant to do that," Steven assured. "You buy glitter every time and sprinkle it on yourself for the stage. When you move, you'll look like a fairy type pokemon. It may not be the ideal type you're looking to match, but the crowd loves it nonetheless."

"How do you know so much about this?" Brendan asked. "I don't recall you ever entering any contests."

"I entered them when I had a dream to be a contest champion." Brendan blew his lips like a horse. "It's true. I wanted to win master contests but couldn't get my pokemon high enough up. They only did well in tough competitions. You can't become a master in just one category. So I took them to the pokemon league and won on the first try."

"The second try?" I added. "That's all it took?"

"It actually took one try, a year of retraining because my pokemon had once been set for contests, and then a second try." He put a hand on his hip. "It was quite the year. I had to switch gears completely. Which reminds me, did you ever want to become the champion?"

"I never actually thought about it." I pulled out both my badges, which were now pinned on the inside of the the red and white jacket I had received from Brendan. "I got both badges fairly easy. Maybe I should try to get a few more."

"Contest first," Steven said, clapping his hands together. He began to analyze Eve, Sinbad, and Plum. "From the looks of it, each of your pokemon have their own talents in a different category. Eve is smart, Sinbad is cool, and Plum is cute. You need to mix the right amount of berries to get the right pokeblocks." He pulled out a thing that reminded me of the Pez candy dispensers as a kid. Instead, it distributed several pokeblocks. Three green, three orange, and three pink. He gave them out to my pokemon accordingly. Sinbad and Plum loved theirs, Eve was somewhat indifferent to how hers tasted.

"Did you not like it?" I asked, leaning down to her height. She shrugged and licked her lips before shrugging again.

"That's alright, some pokemon don't like the taste at first." He pat Eve on the head. She seemed to really enjoy it. "You and her are signed to go tomorrow. You ready to practice some of her moves?" I nodded and balled my fists.

"Yep! I'm ready!"

We worked so hard throughout the night that I could only get a few hours sleep before Eve woke me up the next morning. Even Plum and Sinbad were wide awake, jumping on the bed like kids on christmas. I sat up and pat them each in turn. They loved every second I pet them. They all returned to their pokeballs as soon as I finished.

I stepped out of my room and out into the air. Slateport was one of the biggest cities I had ever seen, and I lived in Saffron for the first part of my life. This city had a museum, fan clubs, an outdoor market, a shipyard, a lighthouse, even a contest hall. The air filled with the salty scent of the sea. The sky was clear except for the few flocks of seagulls and pelippers as they landed and roosted all around the cities' roofs. The people here greeted you whenever you met their eyes and often introduced themselves fully, even though I was sure I wouldn't meet them again in my lifetime. When I stepped out into the morning sunshine, a herd of people passed me, whooping and shouting about being the first ones to the beach. It was a beautiful city that I hoped I wouldn't have to leave soon.

I checked the time. It was an hour before the contest hall opened and I had yet to get in my outfit, so I began walking around town in the back up clothes Steven had bought me: a red shirt that was fitted specifically for my body type, a pair of white shorts and black leggings that barely touched my knees under them. My hair was tied up in a bandana, the bow on my head obnoxiously large and attention-seeking. My bangs were sticking out to the sides of the bow in cute disarray. The fanny pack he had also gave me I had stuffed with everything Brendan had retrieved from the wreck, including a pokeblock case that Steven had given me. I wore it backwards.

I started off towards the contest hall, where I saw a larger group of people gathered out front. Everybody was in unnatural excitement for being awake so early. They were all hollering and snapping pictures. When I stepped up to the crowd, there was just enough of a gap to see what was happening.

A girl with brilliant blue hair and a cute outfit that just shouted for all eyes on her stood, looking every which way to pose, pose, pose. When she held up her hand, the flashes of the cameras stopped and she began talking.

"Welcome, everybody!" Upon closer inspection, she was being broadcasted by a group of newscasters. "We are here at Slateport!" She blew a kiss towards the camera, but some men standing behind it fainted, hearts dripping down from their eyes. "Here's the big news everyone: Champion Steven and I came across each other yesterday. That's right: Champion Steven Stone is here in Slateport as well!"

The crowd went so wild that I had to cup my ears to avoid being deafened. She laughed, waited for the cheers to die down, then struck another pose. "That's right! But he didn't want to compete, what a bummer! Instead, he mentioned that he was traveling with a newcomer from the Kanto region!"

"Ooooh!" cooed one side of the crowd. "Aweee!" echoed the other.

"I know, right? So naturally, he signed her up to perform in her first contest!" One of the newscasters looked around the crowd, as if bored. Then, they're eyes set on me. I tried to run away, but I already had the model's attention. "Oh my! Is that her right now?"

Like a pack of wild wolves, everyone within arm distance of me grabbed ahold and tugged me to the front of the crowd, where the girl pulled me up beside me to take a quick pose. Before moving to the next, she adjusted my pose like a time trial pose.

"Smile, darling! You're live!" Her words were enough to make me mirror the poses she set up. It came to me almost naturally. The cute finger guns, the cool peace signs, and the tough display of my pokeballs. When we had snapped nearly twenty photos, she raised her hands again and the flashing stopped. She turned to me and put a mic to my lips. "Tell me, are you Mew of Saffron City?"

"Yes," I said, already feeling the pressure of thousands of people on my shoulders. "That's my hometown. I live in LittleRoot now."

"Oooh!"

"Aweee!"

"That's pretty cool, girlie! I'm Lissia, I'm sure Steven mentioned me." She shook my hand. In unison, the both of us turned to the cameras and smiled. Another twenty photos were taken right then and there. Then, she stopped them again.

"Yeah, he said you were pretty popular here in Hoenn."

"Only the most!" She posed again, this time pretending to give me a noogie. "Say, what contest are we competing in today? Tought? Clever? Cute?"

"Cool," I replied with a smile. Like on cue, Eve jumped out from her pokeball. I don't know how she did it, but she had the little outfit (a mock ace-trainer costume) on as soon as she touched ground. She appeared, cawed her entrance, then posed. The whole crowd nearly fainted in joy. People in this region sure got into their cosplaying.

"Cool category it is, Mew of Saffron City!" We posed again. "Meet me back here in time for the contest and may the best girl win!" That's when the news reporters put away their camera, the crowd dispersed, and Lissia disappear into the contest hall. I was about to head back to the pokemon center when I saw that Brendan and Steven had both been in the crowd, watching with smiles on their faces.

I tried to turn the other way but Brendan caught me and started to give me a noogie. "That's mah little contest winner! You're already friends with a pro!" He released me and handed me my uniform. "Now dress up, the contest is in half an hour and you're going to need a lot of make up."

"Excuse me?"

"To emphasize the features of your face," Steven clarified. "There's nothing that needs fixing, I can assure you." He pat me on the back. "Are you willing to let me do your make up?"

"Um?" was all I could think to answer with.

"I know how to do make up," he answered. "I had a few friends of mine who needed theirs done and I had to learn myself just in case I needed to use it myself." He snorted softly. "I guess it's a useful skill to have now that I have a girlfriend." I blushed at the word.

"Hey, I have to get ready for the contest, too," Brendan made a kissy face. "Do my make up, too, Steve-o?" The champion just stared at him, an eyebrow up like he wanted to say, "Really? Is that how it is now?" Steven turned to me.

"Let's get ready." He gestured at my clothes. "Get changed and we'll get to work."

It took him only fifteen minutes to do my make up. He did it so quickly that I didn't get a chance to see it before I was put on the stage. Because I had registered last, I was to show up fourth on the stage. There was a seemingly long bit of waiting that I had to do before Eve presented herself on stage. She currently stood by my side, chin held high.

"You're not nervous, are you?" I whispered, though it was unnecessary with the roaring crowd in the background. I had missed Lissia's performance, which I had hoped to catch to formulate a plan against it. The other two performers I wasn't nearly scared about.

"Combusken," Eve comforted. I sighed.

"You're right. Everybody has to get on stage at least once." I met her eyes. "You'll do great out there, Eve. I know you will." She nodded and squeaked in agreement. I couldn't have been more proud of her. She was such a ball of energy and determination, if only I could take after that.

"Next up!" shouted the announcer from the speakers set up all around the contest hall. "Trainer Mew of Saffron City and her Combusken, Eve!" We darted onto stage. As soon as the two of us were visible, she hopped into my arms. I threw her in the air, watching carefully as she did a perfect double kick, then land on my shoulders with ease. We both struck a pose, me with a finger gun at my side and her on one foot, balanced like a karate master.

The crowd went wild with cheers. They started running around the stadium, screaming. Or, I heard them running around. The stage lights were far too bright for me to see anything clearly. When the crowd wouldn't stop screaming, I felt Eve waver. She jumped off my shoulder and squinted at the audience.

"Eve, we're not supposed to-" I started, but she jumped back and double kicked me right off the stage. I went flying and into the back wall, where the curtains came crumbling down around me. I heard my pokemon scream in pain.

I flung the curtains off me. There, standing in front of me and holding Eve by the leg was Maxie, a wild smile on his face. The stage lights blinked out and behind them the crowd was being forced to stay calm and seated in the concert hall with pokemon at their feet, ready to pounce. Team Magma grunts were everywhere, yelling, blocking doors, and rounding up anyone that fought too hard to try and help the others escape.

In other words, Brendan and Steven were trapped in the corner of the room by a heavier-looking man with short black hair. Maxie lifted my pokemon higher and held out his hands, gesturing to the area around him.

"I saw the news report," he said. "You looked awfully cute. I thought I'd drop by and visit."

Mew Has Been Entered For Coolness Contest Normal!

You Are Contestant Number 4!

What Pokemon Will You Use?

Combusken Entered The Contest!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	21. Evolution Time! Who Will Win?

Chapter 21

"Put her down, Maxie," I said in a forced calm. "It's not her you want."

"Oh, contraire," the Team Magma leader corrected. "I want the bird just as much as I wish I speak to with you." He handed Eve to a girl in a different style magma uniform. She popped some bubble gum before placing Eve in her hands by the arm instead. She held the pokemon far from her, as if it were contaminated with sickness. Her expression didn't change the entire while, even though Eve was nipping and clawing at her the whole while.

"What do you want?" I asked. Surely if I held him off long enough, some officers would come and arrest him, right?

"Archie fused you with the blue orb, did he not?"

"What of it?" Maxie leaned down towards me, hands behind his back.

"I will not accept attitude, young lady. You will respect your elders, regardless of the situation." He straightened. "Archie was stupid to mix the orbs together. It's like building a fireplace with a pure wooden frame. It just ends in disaster. So I'm going to ask you to give me the blue orb."

"What?" I asked. "You said that yourself. I can't take it out." He laughed.

"Oh, it can be taken out." He pulled a small knife from his back pocket. "All that it takes is a little digging and pulling." The image he put in my mind made me sick. I stepped away as he approached. "Don't be shy, now. You wouldn't want your little pokemon to get hurt now, would you?"

Something compelled Plum, I have no idea what, but it was enough to draw himself from his pokeball and ram Maxie right in the stomach. Sinbad followed, slicing the tip of his stem right down the Magma Admin holding Eve. Her face started dripping blood down the center. Screaming, she dropped Eve. The fire type dove forward and pecked Maxie's hand before he could bring his knife down on Plum. When he dropped it, I prepared myself to use a pokemon move on him, but I saw something flicker from the corner of my eye.

It was Brendan's eyes. He looked from me to Maxie, then shook his head. Only when I put my hands down did the red in his glare disappear. I would've helped him and Steven if I could've, but I decided to dive for the knife. Right when I grabbed it, a giant set of fangs took a big bite out of my hand. I pulled away, forcing myself to take the knife with me.

A mightyena was in front of me, baring ugly fangs at me as pink drool slipped down her cheeks. Maxie stood and pointed to me.

"Go! Use bite!" I put my hands up, ready for it to attack. As soon as the dog pokemon dove at me, I sidestepped and was missed by an inch of bloody fangs. My hand was throbbing and my vision was fading fast. If I didn't do something, I'd lose another life. Now Sinbad and Eve were relentlessly attacking Maxies pokemon with a neverending barrage of the most powerful moves they could perform. Plum lie in the corner, seemingly struck when I had not been looking.

"Oh, no!" I hissed, dragging myself over to him. I put my uninjured hand on his forehead. He was overheating and breathing heavy. It was like there was something wrong internally. there were no cuts, no signs of being attacked. Had he fallen of his own will?

"Dot! Dot!" Sinbad warned. I turned around and put my knife up to the mightyena as soon as she drew near. She stopped, spread her stance in defense, and began barking. The yelps were so high pitched that I felt my vision falter. I dropped to a knee but forced myself to stay away.

"You can take my life all you like, Maxie!" I shouted. "You can cut me to bits and rip me apart, you can infuse me with both orbs and ruin my life." My eyes started glowing brilliant purple. "But I won't ever let you touch my pokemon! Not now, not _ever!_"

"I'd like to see you try and stand after this! Mightyena, crunch!" I closed my eyes. What I had said was not a lie. I wouldn't let them touch Plum. If I died once, so be it. If I lost all my lives, so be it. My pokemon are my friends. I won't let them die. I'd rather die myself!

Just then a beam of light enveloped the whole room. The mightyena yelped in sudden dismay. A soothing wave of relief washed over my hand. I opened my eyes to watch the wounds heal themselves, the muscles and flesh mending together to heal flawlessly. I knew this pokemon move: heal pulse!

Plum landed in front of me, but this time, he was not the small ralts I had once known. He was a beautiful and elegant kirlia. He had healed me. Dancing on the tips of his toes, he looked back at me, eyes full of determination. I nodded and stood.

"Plum, use disarming voice!" The mightyena tried to run away, but by the time Plum had used his mighty roar of a fairy type move, the pokemon had been hurled from one end of the contest hall to the next. She landed in the crowd, where a bunch of magma grunts lost their control of the audience. It only took that small of a crowd to set the rest of the auditorium into chaos. As soon as they all got to their feet and scattered, the magma grunts were forced along with them, swept out of the hall and outside.

Maxie stood up, eyes red with rage. "This isn't the last you've seen of me, Mew! I'll take that blue orb out of you whether you're alive to wake from the procedure or not!" Then he grabbed his admin by the arm and dragged her outside. The whole while she was tossing and turning.

"My beautiful face!" she yelped. "My godlike, beautiful, perfect face!" The door slammed shut behind her, leaving the room empty except for my pokemon, Steven and Brendan. The Magma member that had kept them in place had fled with the others. They hopped onto the stage.

"You did pretty well for a newbie," Brendan complimented. I wasn't sure what he meant by that. Did that happen every time a contest started? I sure as hell hoped it didn't. Steven looked around the room. The banners, the stage lights, and the stage itself had sustained damage from Team Magma invading.

"I suppose we'll make the news again," he said in disappointment. "After Maxie found us here, I'm sure we'll just become wandering targets."

"No, sir." We both looked offstage. There, climbing up the broken steps, was Lissia. Despite being in the midst of chaos and turmoil, her outfit was still beautiful and her make up unsmudged. She stepped up to me. "I'm sorry, Mew. I had no idea you were a target for those guys."

"Oh, it's ok." I lifted my hands up. "Really, if you were traveling with us, you'd know this happens a lot." She put a finger on her cheek.

"Really? That much?" She looked towards the door. "I guess it's true. Team Magma and Aqua don't ever come around here. They know everyone hates them."

"I'm sorry about the hall, Lissia," Steven chimed in. "I'll be glad to pay for any damages that need to be covered."

"Oh, don't you worry." She winked. Man, this whole girls' life was a movie. "If you think about it, now that it's all been torn down and destroyed, we can redo it! Make it bigger, better!" She took a minute to think. "What should call the new contests here…. Oh, I know! Contests Spectacular! Cuz, you know, that's just what they are!" She looked to me. "And you, Mew of Saffron City, have received the first ever ribbon!"

She reached into the folds of her bow and pulled out an orange ribbon with a tiny gold plate in the center. She took my dress and pinned it on the front, nearest to where the Team Magma symbol on my chest shone.

"But, I didn't really-" She put a finger to my lips.

"That's the beauty about contests, Mew! You don't have to participate, you have to perform!" She leaned back. "And what you did today was beyond cool. It was just all-around spectacular!" She laughed.

"Um, thanks, Lissia." I looked down at the ribbon pinned to my dress. I had to say I did feel a little proud of myself. "Is there anything else you need us to do before we leave?"

"Sure! Do this city a favor and visit the museum. Having someone like you there will really boost the popularity." She hopped off the stage like a princess and started out the door. Without stopping, she waved. "Good luck on your travels, Mew! One day we'll have a real contest: a contest spectacular!"

When she left, the three of us just sorta stood there, taken aback. Then Brendan laughed.

"Congrats, Mew. You got your first ribbon." He made a girly twirl of his hands. "A _spectacular_ ribbon," he added sarcastically. "Because that's a hell of a lot different."

Maxie Would Like To Battle!

Maxie Sent Out Mightyena!

What? Plum Is Evolving!

Congratulations, Plum Evolved Into A Kirlia!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	22. Trick House Equals Confusion!

Chapter 22

We stepped out of the contest hall. I was still in my cute outfit, but for the sake of time, I kept it on. Steven led Brendan and I to the museum. It was a gorgeous blue building with windows opened to the sea to the east. There were statues of magnificent water pokemon sculpted on the sides like wailord, pelliper, lanturn, and several others. The sidewalk leading up to it was made of a gorgeous blue stones than reminded me of lapis lazule. There was no chipping of the paint, no bird droppings, just a giant beautiful building that seemed newer than anything else in the city.

When we entered it, a peaceful song started playing. The person who played the trumpet in it seemed to know what they were doing. They had such great tone and such a beautiful sound to it. I wondered what the name of the song was.

"Welcome to the oceanic museum," one of the girls behind the desk greeted. "That will be 150 poke for all of you." Steven handed her the cash as Brendan and I passed inside. There was a display telling why the sea was salty, a rubber ball that showed what happens when pressure is exerted on it, and other displays that displayed soil, fossils, and other artifacts from the ocean near Slateport. Brendan was especially interested in the display that talked about how much water there was than land. I let him and Steven on their own and climbed up the stairs to the second floor.

There wasn't nearly as many people up there as below. In fact, there was only one man. He saw me, dressed in my slightly dirtied costume outfit, and approached me. His blue eyes were calm and gentle. He wore a coat and a hat, somewhat like he wanted to conceal his identity.

"You must be Mew," he said. "I am Captain Stern. You can call me Stern for short."

"Pleased to meet you," I greeted, though I was confused to why we were meeting in the first place.

"I'm the curator of this museum. I heard just a few minutes ago that you chased off Maxie and his gang of thugs?" I nodded in confirmation. He sighed, relieved, then took off his hat. His bald head shone brightly. "Thank goodness."

"Were you being chased by them, Stern?" I asked. He nodded.

"I have been receiving threats from them left and right about them wanting to steal the parts I need to finish my project." I tilted my head, confused. "Oh, it's a long story. I've been in the works of creating a submarine. For the first time ever, we can hope to scour the depths of the ocean. I ordered some parts from the Devon corporation, but they haven't come yet. Needless to say, Team Magma won't stop pestering me until they know where they are."

"There's no need to worry anymore, Captain." Steven and Brendan stepped up the stairs. The champion handed a medium-sized box to Stern, nodded once. "My father gave these for me to deliver to you. I'm sorry if they're a little wet, we had trouble along the way." He took them from Steven, even more relieved than before.

"Thank you, Mr. Champion. I appreciate it." His eyes glowed with sudden joy. "Now we can prepare for our expedition at last!" He met each of our gazes in turn. "Thank you, all of you. May we meet again when it comes time to explore the oceans." Then he stepped past us and down the stairs.

"A friend of yours?" Brendan asked Steven.

"More like a friend of my fathers'," he corrected. "We've never been too deep under the sea, so Captain Stern and him work hand in hand to try and build a machine that can do so." Wow, this region was really high tech. Back in Kanto, the only thing you could do was swim across the little water we had. There was no diving, no exploring, just splashing around.

"So where do we have to get next?" I asked.

"Mauville city," he answered. "It's been redone quite a bit in the past year, so it's more of a mall now, but you'll like it nonetheless." We all started down the stairs. "We've done everything we need to do here, anyway."

"I really like it here," I admitted.

"You don't want to go?" Brendan asked. "You really like it that much?"

"I don't mind leaving. I just want to be able to come back." Steven smiled slightly.

"We will come back eventually," he promised. "Come now, the rest of our journey is ahead."

We left Slateport and headed north, where our path was cut in half by a smaller building. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was another path north. Branching off from the building was a trail crowded by bicyclists and them only. They were battling and talking. There was even someone at the end of the trail that was measuring how fast people could come down from the path without hitting anything. From the looks of the sleek metal path and space on it, it was much more luxurious than the path we were on.

"I'd take it if I had a bike," Brendan said, reading my mind. "But if we try to go on it without, there's no doubt we would get trampled. Not to mention stick out like a sore thumb." I wasn't sure if he was saying that sticking out would be worse than being trampled.

"We can get bikes in Mauville," Steven assured. "They shouldn't cost that much." Then he started off down the grass trail. We skipped right past a patch of taller grass which undoubtedly had pokemon in it. I tried to catch a glimpse of what was inside, but there was no sure way of telling what types of pokemon were inside without diving in headfirst.

Plum jumped out of his pokeball to walk beside me. He was as delicate as a flower wherever he stepped. A once more masculine pokemon was now such a cute kirlia. I wondered how he felt about it. Now that I thought about it, he seemed to be more showy than usual. Maybe he wanted to become a gardevoir.

"Kirl," he said in my direction. The boys didn't stop walking, but glimpsed to see what he was talking to me about. "Kirlia," he added.

"You don't want to be a gardevoir?" I questioned. It was still hard to talk to pokemon, but if he had heard me thinking about it using his psychic powers, than that must be the reason he approached it. He nodded and hopped softly towards me. He looked down at himself and shook his head. "You don't like the feminine look on you," I guessed.

"Kirlia," Plum agreed.

"Maybe we should find an everstone," Steven suggested. "If we don't find one and Plum keeps leveling up, he might accidentally turn into what he doesn't want. And we don't have the dawn stone to turn him into a gallade right now." He pulled out his PokeNav, which I was surprised to see after having almost lost it at sea. "I have a dawn stone back in mossdeep, but by the time we get there, it may be too late."

"You guys in need of an everstone?" All three of us came to a halt. Straight ahead in front of a house that looked to be painted and redone a thousand times over was a man with hair only on the sides of his heads. Before we could think to ask him what he meant, he disappeared inside his house.

"Hey, wait!" I ran to catch up to him. I entered his house right only a few seconds after he did, but he had vanished. The inside of the house was standard: one room, a table, windows at the back, and a few bookcases. But wherever the man had gone was a mystery. Brendan opened the door behind me and stopped.

"We're being watched," he whispered. Then, tiptoeing, he approached the table and flipped it over. The man was flat on his back underneath it, holding his hands out. He looked only slightly surprised.

"You found me. Congratulations!" He stood, grabbed the table, and put it back in place. As soon as it was right back where we had found it, he faced it. "I'm the Trick Master, ultimate master of tricks in all of Hoenn. I have an assortment of items I can give you." He paused to lift his hand. "That is, if you can beat one of my puzzles."

"You'll give us an everstone if we beat a puzzle?" Steven asked. "Ok, where is it?" The Trick Master stuck a thumb over his shoulder. Behind him, a scroll hung from the wall. It fluttered slightly, like there was something behind it. I had taken my eyes off the man for a minute before he started spinning and vanished.

The three of us stood in silence, completely confused. "It's a trick," Steven finally explained. "Let's just do the puzzle and get out of here." He approached the scroll and pushed it to the side. Behind it was a passageway to another room, which we took.

Wow. This guy had some serious time on his hands if he went to all the trouble to make a whole other room to his house. Not only that, but it was made to be like a maze to confuse us and several trainers to battle if we took the wrong way. There were trees grown in there as well. I guess the Trick Master was smarter than we thought.

"This will take forever if we stay together." Steven looked to me. "You have the HM for cut that Roxanne gave you, correct?" I nodded. "Teach it to one of your pokemon and take every path you see a tree blocking. Brendan and I will take every other path we come across." We all split up at his words. The first of the trees I found was not too far away. When I approached it, I was far too lazy to go through the process of teaching my pokemon the HM, so I brought back Plum and sent out Eve. She looked around, confused.

"Busken?"

"Trust me, you probably understand what's going on better than I do." I showed her the tree. "Can you burn this thing down so I can pass? The thorns will tear me apart if I try to squeeze past it. The fire type pokemon took a moment to think.

"Busken," she finally agreed. She turned to the tree and breathed a heavy amount of flames on it. I was sure the thing was going to be nothing but ash by the time she was finished. She went at it for a good couple minutes before taking a break to breathe.

The tree was still there, untouched. The two of us stood there quietly, trying to process what had just transpired. Without being asked, Eve began lighting the tree once again, this time for much longer and with more brilliant flames. I'm surprised the whole house didn't catch on fire. When she finished, however, there was no difference.

"The logic of this entire region is stupid," I mumbled, reaching into my bag and pulling out the HM. I taught cut to Eve and she almost immediately lashed out at the tree, chopping it to tiny pieces with her razor-sharp claws. The tree was destroyed so thoroughly that it disintegrated upon hitting the floor. I stepped through the gap, grumbling to myself, annoyed.

The room I entered was empty except for a young trainer with a marill. I fainted her pokemon with one double kick from Eve before she ran off with her pokemon, handing me a couple poke dollars in payment for winning. With her gone, I saw that she had been guarding a scroll. Written on the scroll was "THE TRICK MASTER IS THE BEST" in huge, sloppily written letters.

"Combusken…?" Eve asked.

"Yeah, I know. This guy has some weird sense of humor to make me battle someone to read this." I held it up higher, but there seemed to be nothing else on it except for a few stains. He had been eating spaghetti when writing this, I realized.

"Hey, did you get that trainer?" Brendan asked, peeking in through the open doorway with shroomish at his side. "Oh. You found a scroll. What does it say?" After I told him, he laughed. At least someone was finding this whole predicament funny.

"Both of you!" I heard Steven call from the other side of the wall. "Come find me! There's a door to the next room." We left the scroll behind and started through a series of turns, twists, and chopping down trees in our paths. By the time we reached Steven, we had come across several dead ends and even more trainers, each of which we wiped out as a duo. We got to the back of the room where Steven waited, pondering in front of a door.

"What's up?" I asked while Brendan tried the door. It was locked.

"It says it needs a code of some sort. Something 'intricate and meaningful' apparently." Brendan picked up a pen that had been set beside the door and started scribbling some sloppy words on the door. Jeez, by the looks of his handwriting, he would make an amazing doctor. "What are you doing?"

"Mew found a scroll that said this." He finished writing the words 'TRICK MASTER IS THE BEST' when the door clicked. It opened on silent hinges inwards. "Cool, I was right!" He stepped through.

"I'm not sure if he actually got the code right," Steven started, "or the Trick Master couldn't read it and just gave him a freebie." Then he followed through as well. In the last room, the Trick Master was sitting at a table that looked a lot like the one at the front of the house. When he saw us, he stood up, nearly spilling his tea.

"Oh c'mon," he complained. "It took me all night to plant those trees. How did you get past them?" I was about to ask where he got such indestructible things when Steven stepped forward.

"We completed the puzzle. The everstone, if you will." The Trick Master sighed.

"I guess you got me there." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a grey stone that looked like an everyday rock and handed it to me. Plum jumped out of his pokeball when he heard the news and took it for himself. He put it up against his chest and did a little spin, content. "Just know this, the lot of you. If ever you get lost and have nowhere else to go, the Trick Master will be here." He spun around a couple times before disappearing again.

We were silent.

Then, "Drugs," Brendan and I agreed. Steven pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We got what we came for. Let's get out of here before he comes back." When we stepped out of the crude hole in the wall he called a pathway, we had to walk straight for a short while before entering the first room we had entered. We all stood there, baffled. "Did… did we go in a complete circle?"

"I don't even know anymore," Brendan replied. We all exited the house.

"Hey, there's a route that way," I realized aloud. "Some trainers, too." Steven took out his PokeNav and opened the map on it. After mulling over our location, he finally spoke.

"That route leads to a small river that empties near Odale town," he explained. "In a way, we have gone in a circle, it seems. Though I don't feel like backtracking all the way to LittleRoot, it would be a good idea for the two of you train."

"Sweet, race you there!" Brendan took off without waiting for us to answer. As soon as he was out of sight, I heard a couple people scream and his marshtomp belch in greeting. I laughed nervously.

"He's been acting out a little more lately," I observed.

"I guess that's his way of coping with us dating," Steven said quietly. "He is taking it better than I thought, I must admit."

"You don't really think he wanted to date me that bad, do you?" I asked. Steven chuckled.

"What you don't realize about yourself, Mew, is that you have a charm that few people can resist." He leaned down to me. "He didn't really want to get closer to you until that first kiss you two had. Then you had him in your grip like a seviper in a zangoose den." I blushed. "To be honest, yes, he did want to be more than a friend that bad."

"What made him change his mind?" Steven paused. He thought for a short while about it.

"He put your happiness above his own." I turned to the route he had taken off down. "In a way, it's noble. He could be trying to win you over, but for some reason, he's letting it go. It's like he's had this happen before." The thought of me turning him down after a long line of girls made my heart sink slightly. "He's very mature for his age. It's almost like he's older than sixteen."

"Why didn't you give me up to him?" I asked out of curiosity. He sighed out his nose.

"I guess you could say I'm selfish, that between him and I, one of us had to win." He met my eyes. "I hope you don't think of me otherwise because of that fact." I stepped up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He embraced me back ever so softly.

"What I said on the ship was true, you know."

"I know, Mew. I just wanted to make sure you weren't beginning to think you had been wrong this whole time." He buried his face in my hair. "You mean the world to me. I know it's a little soon to say it, but I mean it."

"I mean it when I say the same, too." I pressed my cheek against his chest. He was so warm, it was like hugging a giant fire type pokemon. "Why do you think Brendan stopped me from using my powers back in the contest hall?"

"The region is not prone to panic," he explained. "You saw how antsy that crowd was. If you had begun to show off pokemon-like powers, there's no doubt the attention you'd get would keep you from doing anything. People would fear you, cops would question you, and scientists would want to study you. That's the last thing we need. You need to hide your powers from the public for the sake of safety. Not just your own, but everyone elses'. If you are a god child like Mewtwo said, than we have to be careful. This world isn't ready for a mewthree, not yet."

"When do you think they'll be ready to accept it?" I asked quietly. Steven sighed.

"To be honest, I don't think they will ever be ready for it." That's what I knew what he was going to say. My heart sunk at the words. Was it too much to ask to be a normal girl?

"Hey, Mew!" Brendan came running down the path towards us. Steven and I separated. My rival stopped in front of me, panting slightly. He held out both his hands where three pokeballs were presented. "It's time for us to battle! I want to see which one of us has the stronger pokemon! Let's make it a triple battle!"

"Triple? You only have two pokemon," I pointed out. He laughed loudly.

"Not anymore! I caught myself a keeper!" He widened his stance. "Get ready, Mew. Here I come!"

Rival Brendan Would Like To Battle!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…


	23. Are You Bored, Readers? You Won't Be Now

Chapter 23

He threw his three pokeballs in the air. All of them opened in unison with each other. Marshtomp and shroomish appeared as expected, but I wasn't expecting to see a numel appear from the the third. Had he caught that just now? Apparently, he had because the numel wasn't looking too prepared for battle again.

"Alright," I said, "I accept your challenge." I tossed my pokeballs up in the air. Plum, Sinbad, and Eve emerged, faces more than determined. "Plum, disarming voice! Sinbad, razor leaf! Eve, double kick on marshtomp! Go, go, go!" They all charged, lashing out with their attacks like they were wild once again. Brendan's numel panicked and used ember on Plum, who dodged it with ease. He first used disarming voice on the fire type, knocking her out with one hit.

"Good on ya, Mew! But that's not near the end of the battle, not yet!" He slashed his hand through the air. "Shroomish, poisonpowder all of them!" The grass pokemon inhaled deeply before blowing out through his pores, expelling the poison in the air. Steven and I had to jump back to avoid being poisoned ourselves. As soon as it began to spread, Plum put himself out front. He absorbed every bit of poison, making sure none of it touched Eve and Sinbad, who watched helplessly. "Oh, no." Brendan had realized his mistake.

As soon as Plum's ability, synchronize, kicked in, his shroomish became just as poisoned as her. In fact, it was almost worst. the two of them dropped down to their knees, panting heavily.

"Eve quick, finish him off with ember!" Eve jumped forward, flames curling around her lips.

"Marshtomp, water gun!" Before Eve could think to dodge she took a direct hit from the super effective move. I thought she had fainted upon hitting the ground until she pulled herself to her feet, trembling. Her HP was lower than low and there was no doubt even a quick attack could finish her now.

"Plum, heal pulse on Eve! Sinbad use razor leaf of marshtomp, quick!" My pokemon did as told. As soon as the warm beams of light hit Eve, she began to calm down and stand taller. Sinbad raced forward and slashed his leaves against marshtomp for but a second. It may have not been long, but the damage was twice as super effective because of the type combination. The water type pokemon had to dart backwards to avoid being finished in one hit.

"Shroomish, tackle!" Brendan was beginning to get desperate, I could tell. By the time his pokemon got up to obey, the poison took him and he fainted right on the spot. Likewise, Plum did the same. We retrieved our finished pokemon before continuing. "Marshtomp, mudslap Sinbad and finish off Eve!" The pokemon was surprisingly quick. By the time it had slapped sinbad with a face full of mud, I had blinked and Eve was on the ground, eyes swirling. I retrieved her.

"One on one," I shouted, "and the odds are in my favor!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Brendan laughed. "Use muddy water! Give it all you've got!" The water pokemon belched in challenge and spat out a stream of brown water, ready to hit Sinbad dead on. Without needing my advice, he dodged and started racing towards his opponent, crying in fury. I knew that cry. He had just learned a new move.

"Sinbad! Leaf blade!" That was all I needed. His pokemon took two seconds to stop the stream of water and three more to turn to him, giving my already prepared pokemon perfect aim for a blade of leaves to hit him dead-on in the chest. Marshtomp twitched, kicked once, then fell over. The blade disappeared and Sinbad remained, breathing heavily.

Brendan blinked at his pokemon, taken aback. Then he smiled. "I knew I should have waited until numel had been healed." He retrieved marshtomp and buckled his pokeball back on his belt. "You beat me fair and square, Mew. How do you feel?"

"Great!" I punched the air. "We did it!" Both of the boys laughed.

"You've gained a lot of experience so far, Mew," Steven said. "Keep it up and you might just be able to take me on and win."

"Thanks." I retrieved Sinbad. As soon as he was back in his ball, Brendan and I both pulled out our bags and began reviving both of our pokemon. As soon as we were ready, we started back on the trail. To my dismay, the entire path was lined with uneven amounts of tall grass. It took us the rest of the day to make it through there. There were electrikes, plusles and minuns, and all the like. It would've been so much easier to take the bike trail that was directly above, but of course, we still didn't have our bikes. We did find some items on the way, however. Some repels and other items that didn't have much value. There weren't a ton of trainers on the way. They were probably just as annoyed with how many wild pokemon were on the path.

The whole trek through the grass I kept my eyes on the sky. It scared me whenever we passed under the large metal beams that supported the bike trail. I didn't want it to collapse on me or the other two. The three of us had been in so much trouble already that I was beginning to be afraid of everything. I wasn't afraid of pokemon now that mine were stronger. That, and I could easily K.O. any pokemon that came my way on my own.

There was a sea to our right on the last run to the clearing. I saw some spots of water where pokemon were barely peeking above the surface. If I walked by too fast they would swim away, screaming in alarm. After that, none would surface unless we got a little quieter. I thought it was cool to watch wailmers and tentacool jump around and play with each other. I saw one tentacool in particular jump so high that he landed on the land.

Wait a minute. There was a door over where he landed. Not only a door, but a whole building masked by greenery and dirt. I squinted, trying to get a better look, but the sun was in my eyes. There wasn't any way to get to it either, I didn't have any water pokemon that were able to swim over there anyways.

"Are you coming, Mew?" Brendan asked.

"Oh, yeah. Coming!" I caught up to the two of them. We entered a clearing where the bicycle road road ended and another building allowed more bikers to and from. We passed right by it. I was a little surprised that the clearing stopped abruptly at a huge gate that read 'MAUVILLE' like it was some sort of tourist attraction. Not only that, but there wasn't a city in sight. Just a huge building with windows that showed people inside with shopping bags, fast food, and other items like bikes in their hands.

"Is this the Mauville mall or something?" I asked.

"No," Steven said, "it's the city. The first floor is for shops, food, and pokecenters. The second floor is apartments for people who live there. And the third floor is the roof, where a bunch of people gather to either battle or chat."

"That… that's a weird city," Brendan said.

"It used to be a lot different. But they got some extra funding and just went all the way with renovations. The people really like it. They made everything bike-accessible so nobody complained."

"We going to get some bikes or something?"

"Yeah, that's our next stop after the pokemon center." They started inside. I followed, but cast one last look back at the building that they hadn't seen from across the water. I saw a shimmer that looked a lot like sparks. A chill ran down my spine and I followed them, not turning back again.

As soon as we had reached the pokemon center, night had fallen. I hate to say it, but today had been boring. Besides from the whole Team Magma thing in Slateport, the whole journey had been a borefest. I know it was stupid, but I wanted some excitement. Steven told me there was a gym in this city and I could compete for my badge, but that didn't seem near as exciting as I wanted it to be.

I sighed. "I wish there was some more excitement in my life."

I tossed over in my bed. We hadn't gotten our bikes today. By the time we reached the store, it was closed, as was the rest of this mall-like city I had yet to explore. It was probably midnight now and I still hadn't been able to sleep. Sinbad and Plum were nested comfortable in the pokemon beds this pokecenter offered to people who stayed the night, but Eve was more comfortable at the foot of my bed. She was so tired that no matter how much I tossed and turned, she wouldn't wake.

I had enough. I sat up and dangled my feet over the edge of the bed, elbows propping my head up. Something was wrong with me. Maybe I just wasn't tired. That could be it. Or I didn't get enough excitement and was craving some more before bed. There wasn't much else to do. I slipped on some slippers and walked out the door. The pokecenter was calm and quiet inside and out, yet the doors were unlocked. That was probably a given because the pokecenter was located in the middle of the town, where all doors to the outside were closed and locked themselves. Everyone within could move about, but no one could leave or come in.

"Achi?" a pokemon whispered.

"Who's there?" I called a little loudly. The response I got was complete silence. That voice, it was so familiar. Where had I heard it before? It wasn't that long ago. Now the entire place was silent and filled with the dull snores of everybody sleeping on the second floor. I did a complete scan of the area. No pokemon, no people, nothing living nearby that wasn't inside and sleeping.

My feet started taking me inside the mall. The lights were off and the stores had their doors shut tightly to avoid any burglars. The minimal light scared me, yet for some reason I continued forward through the darkness. It wasn't ideal, but exploring the town at night seemed like a good idea at the time.

The city was well put together. The dull yellow stones they had used to build everything were not an inch out of place, shined to the point of glimmering, and unscratched. The stores were equal in size down to the inch (I know because I began measuring everything with my feet). On every end of the city there were places to tie your bike, wash your bike, fix your bike, even customize your bike. Now the need to get a bike was getting stronger with me. The halls were so empty, my footsteps seemed to echo nonstop. I found myself constantly checking over my shoulder for something to pop out and scare me. When nothing did, I relaxed.

"Achi!" came the pokemon again, this time louder. I almost screamed out of fright. Wait, was that voice coming from upstairs? I put my back to the wall.

"Wh-wh-who is there? Show yourself!"

"Achiiii!" The voice sounded like a little child craving attention. It wanted me to find it, from the sounds of it. My knees began trembling and my legs felt like jelly. This was the moment most people would turn around and go back to sleep, but I was far more interested than I was scared. I started up the stairs, flinching as my slipped made shuffling noises I thought were pokemon sneaking up behind me, and ascended the stairs.

The second floor wasn't where the pokemon was. I could tell because every door was locked and shut tightly. They were the entrances to people's homes, and I didn't feel like doing a home invasion while in Mauville. The stairs went up further until I found myself on the roof. The cold night air ruffled my hair.

"Ok, whoever is there, please show yourself," I begged. "This is getting really creepy really fast." The roof had grass and cell phone towers on top of it. From the looks of it, it had been trodden on many times before. The vending machines were the only light source I could hope to go by, and somehow that made it even creepier. I did a half a lap around before the voice came again, this time from right beside me.

"Achi?"

I screamed and fell onto my butt, eyes wide and breathing heavy. I stopped. The pokemon that had called me up here wasn't scary at all. It was shaped like a star with a little gold cape and a line across its' belly like somebody had drawn on it with a marker. It hovered mid air, looking down at me with concerned eyes. It was cute. It was so cute that all the thrill I felt from fear before vanished in an instant.

"O-oh, it's only you."

"Jirachi," the pokemon agreed, dropping down beside me. It nuzzled up against my arm and started humming. It was like he wanted to cuddle.

"Jirachi, huh? That's a cute name." I picked him up and held him above me like I was playing with a baby. He laughed and started air-swimming. "I wonder why I've never seen one of you before. Or have I?"

"Achi," he reminded. For some reason, that's all I needed to know for the memories to come flooding back. This had been the pokemon that had led me to Steven on the abandoned ship before it went under. If it hadn't been for this pokemon, Steven would be dead.

"Thanks for back then," I said. "Man, you must have traveled a long way to get here. I wish I knew how you did it."

"I actually followed you the whole way here," he said. I paused. Great, another talking pokemon. And this one had seemed so normal to start out with. "I'm not normal in the slightest, Mew-chan. I'm actually a legendary."

"Legend… legendary?" I sat up. "As if there's only one of you?" The blue tags on the edge of each point on his star-shaped head shook when he bobbed his head. "Why are you following me?"

"I heard that espeon call you the godchild before you got on the abandoned ship. So I decided to help you get Steven and get out before Team Aqua blew it up."

"So Team Aqua did blow up the ship." He nodded a little too happily.

"Yep. Set him there all tied up, rigged the ship, and blew it as soon as they saw Brendan on his way." He paused. "I'm Jirachi. I heard people call you Mew. Is that your real name?"

"Yeah, it is."

"But aren't you a godchild, Mew-chan?" I took a moment to think. I made sure no one was around before whispering my answer.

"Sort of. Mewtwo called me Mewthree." The look of excitement on his face was widespread. "But you can't tell anybody. I don't want anybody to freak out and try and dissect me. I already have people coming after me to do that."

"I won't tell anyone. I don't hang around people that much anyway. They get scared." He giggled.

"Well, when you go around creeping people out like you just did to me now, it's no wonder they're scared of you."

"Hey, we should be friends."

"Friends?" He bobbed his head. I smiled. This thing was pretty cute. For a legendary, it didn't seem that powerful and destructive. Back in Kanto, all the legendaries were ferocious and scary pokemon. Hoenn was beginning to make me think otherwise. "What do you say?"

"Of course I'll be your friend." My stomach grumbled. I set him down and sat up.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, curious.

"Yeah. I wish I had some cake or something."

"Your wish is my command." Just then a huge cake dropped onto the sidewalk before me. The metal plate it was on made a loud clanging noise, and for a hair-splitting second several of the snores stopped. I grabbed Jirachi and covered his mouth before he could laugh. When the snores commenced, I released him.

"Did…" I whispered, poking the cake. Frosting came off on my finger. "Did you bake this?" I took a quick sample. Sweet Arceus, it was delicious. I took another fingerful of frosting, melting at the sugary goodness.

"I didn't bake it, I made it."

"Isn't that the same as baking?" I started tearing at the cake, hungry as a beast. Man, when had it been since my last real meal? This one didn't count, but it sure as hell was delicious.

"No, baking is when you cook it to make it. I just made it out of thin air." I paused. My eyes turned to him. "In case you're wondering, I can grant wishes. I can do whatever someone wants. It's part of the reason why people are scared of me. I try telling them that every wish has a bad side, but they don't understand and wish for things like lots of money, fame, and even you wished for more excitement."

Oh sweet Arceus.

"Did you… did you grant that wish?" He nodded, again, too happily.

"Yep. You'll have more excitement now. A lot more excitement. I made sure to do a really good job on this wish, considering you're a godchild and all." Sweat started pouring from my forehead.

"Can you tell me exactly what you did?" I whispered.

"Oh, lots of things. I gave Team Aqua and Team Magma hints about where you are, I made a few pokemon angry at you for no apparent reason, I even told every legendary in this region about you. They seemed really interested." He paused, putting a finger to his lips. "I did something to Steven and Brendan, too, but I can't remember what. Oh yeah!"

He turned to me an innocent smile on his face. "They'll both be kidnapped by either Team Magma or Team Aqua, who will be here any minute! Hey look it's-"

I remember the back of my head roaring in pain. I remember hitting the cement. Then after that, I don't remember anything.

A Wild Jirachi Appeared!

Jirachi Used Wish!

Mew Blacked Out!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…


	24. The Pokemon Master Joins My Team!

Chapter 24

"You're a fool, Mewthree." I opened my eyes slowly. I was back on that primitive Earth. No ocean, no land, just a smooth expanse of bedrock. My clothes had reverted back into the pink dress, my hair even longer than it was last time. My body was sore, especially the back of my head. The stars were blurred; was I going blind? The longer I waited, the better my vision became. "You let your human side get the best of you."

"Mewtwo?" I whispered, confused. He landed delicately in front of me. "I… I lost another life, didn't I?" He bowed his head once.

"You were careless yet again. I take it you did not heed my warning."

"Send me back!" I barked. He stared at me. "Do it! I have to stop them from getting kidnapped!"

"Jirachi's wishes can _not_ be so easily revoked, Mewthree." He grabbed me by the collar and hoisted me to my feet, where I stumbled before I could find my balance. "You made a wish, now stick by it. Don't be pathetic."

"I'm not pathetic!" I shouted, swinging at him. He teleported out of the way before I could land a strike. From behind, I heard him appear. I swun0g my leg around, attempting to kick his head off, but now he was up in the air, sighing in disapproval. "Come down here and fight me like a real pokemon! I'll kill you if you don't send me back to Earth right _now_!" He bared his fangs.

"Do not be a moron, Mewthree. You must feel it yourself. Exhaustion, pain, numbness. You are in no condition to return to the present. You are still dead. Let your wounds heal. It is only when that is complete will you have enough power to return. It is not my will nor is it yours that can influence that. Shut up and listen!" I was tempted to try and fly back up to him, but I tripped on my own feet and hit the bedrock. I was far too numb to feel the pain, so I just lie there, hoping not much damage had been done. "Will you listen now?"

"I guess I don't have a choice." He continued, ignoring my attitude.

"Brendan has been taken by Team Aqua. He will be in Fallarbor town until you save him. Steven will be with Team Magma in Meteor Falls. They will not be killed when you get there." I didn't say anything for a short while.

"You have to promise me they won't be killed."

"What?" Mewtwo was taken aback by my words. "Me, a god pokemon, make a promise? Why would I do something so stupid and humanlike?" I sat up quickly.

"Look at me, Mewtwo!" He stopped talking and met my eyes, anger prevalent in his eyes. "If either of them die before I can get to them, I'll hold you accountable for it. I'll kill you. I don't care if you have to kill me, I don't care how _many _times you have to kill me! They're everything to me, both of them!"

"You are infatuated." His words stopped me. "I don't care how you feel for either Brendan or Steven, but you need to focus on your mission, not on petty promises." He landed in front of me. "You are the third god of creation. Can't you see that this mission will be easy if you put your mind to it?" I focused on the bedrock, silent. "Gah! Fine. I promise you that neither of them will die. If this misfortune befalls either of them, I will find a way to undo it."

"Thank you, Mewtwo." He snorted in anger.

"Shut up. I'm doing it so you don't go berserk and set the balance of this planet off balance." He faced me. "Your life is almost rebooted. By the time you wake, both your rival and the champion will be where I have told you. Also," he added, "you are in need of a companion. I invited an old friend of mine to assist you with this journey."

"A friend? Who?" Mewtwo swished his tail.

"You will see upon your second awakening." He held out his hand. My body began to tingle. I looked down at my hands. They were beginning to fade. "Do not fail me again, Mewthree. If you do, I will not be happy." I looked up to meet his eyes, but he had already vanished. His voice still hung in the air. "Promises… heh. What a puny god."

The entire world went black. There was no longer anything beneath me. I was floating in the middle of a black oblivion. I could feel nothing but the tingling Mewtwo had left me with. My eyes were open, but there was nothing to see. The blood pulsing through my ears was deafening in comparison to the silence. I tried to move my fingers, but the would not listen. I tried to breathe normally. Don't panic, I told myself repeatedly. Fear was the enemy.

I blacked out for a second. Now I could see light flooding through the darkness. I reached out towards it with my hands. Rebirth. That was what was happening. My old life was being shed like dead skin and I was coming to. I let the light consume me.

I gasped and threw myself into a sitting position. A house. I was in a house. It smelt heavenly in here, almost like the room was covered in flowers. Yet there was only one plant in sight and that was the orchids by my bed. The inside of this house was decorated in so many paintings of fresh fruit, of different plants, of so many flowers, that I felt I would eventually get lost in all the gorgeous colors. It was gorgeous. For a second, it was like I had gone to heaven.

"You're awake," a woman said. She stepped into the room with a platter of fresh cut vegetables on a plate. "Just in time for an afternoon snack. I'm Wanda, Wally's cousin."

"Wally?" I asked. "Oh, I haven't talked to him in forever!" She chuckled.

"Well I can assure you, you haven't left his mind since you encouraged him to get that ralts of his. It's a kirlia now. He used it to battle the goons that were trying to kidnap you." She read my expression of surprise. "Yes, he beat them with a single pokemon. you'd be surprised the boys determination at training now. He's pretty good."

"He saved me?" I asked, incredulous. She nodded.

"You had been attacked by a hoard of pokemon. It looked like you were dead when he brought you home, but I guess he was right." I didn't like the look of confusion in her eyes. Was she onto the fact that I was actually dead? "You seem ok now. How do you feel?"

"A little sore," I lied. "Where is Wally? What happened?" She set the tray of vegetables on the bed. I took a few carrots and ate them delicately.

"Team Magma and Team Aqua attack Mauville city from the north and east. The only place to run was towards Slateport or here in Verdanturf. Wally did the right thing to bring you here. Those goons tried to come into town more than once to try and get you, but the entire town fought them off."

"All of that... for me?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't we protect the savior of Wally back in Petalburg." She nudged me a few more carrots. "You are a hero here for doing that. Nobody would let anyone touch you."

"Mew!" I heard a familiar voice cry. Wally came running into the room and into my arms. I caught him and hugged onto him tightly. "You're ok! I knew you would be!" He was still as thin and frail-looking as last time, but I didn't expect such a tight grip and running from him.

"You've gotten so much better," I noticed. He pulled away to meet my eyes.

"Ever since I arrived here, I've been feeling so great! I've been training every day! You have to battle me!"

"In a little bit," I promised, patting his head. "Your cousin said you saved me. With just one pokemon?" He nodded. "Wow, that must be a strong pokemon."

"It is!" He held out a pokeball and a kirlia emerged. It looked a lot like Plum, but this kirlia was a lot more powerful. You could tell by her elegance and the way she focused on me that there was some great power being held back. "She's going to evolve soon, hopefully. I don't know into what, but it'll be great!"

"That's amazing." Wallys' face lit up.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Someone came by looking for you." My heart started beating. "He said he knew you because of a distant friend." Mewtwo's words rang through my head.

"Did he?" I asked. The young boy grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of bed. "Woah, wait just a second there. I'm not quite-" I stopped speaking when he brought me out to the front room. Because there, sitting in a chair, was someone I never thought I'd ever hear about again.

Red, the pokemon master, was sitting right in front of me.

Mew Fainted!

Use Max Revive?

[YES] NO

Mew was Revived!

Mew Met Trainer Red!

Lives Left: 8

Part 3: Commence!


	25. Red And I Start Our Journey!

Chapter 25

Red saw me enter the room and stood. His eyes were an uncanny red that glowed so bright they had their own halos around them. He was slightly taller than me and had deep black hair that was sticking out of a red and white cap. I saw on his belt that he had five ultra balls. His black shirt was tight on his muscular chest. He walked up to me and gently tugged on the collar of my jacket. I took it off. The second it was removed, he put it in himself.

A perfect fit for him, a perfect match for his hat. Now I realized that Brendan had somehow gotten ahold of it without his permission, and he had taken it back for himself. He nodded at me in gratitude.

"Oh, um, you're welcome." He didn't say anything.

"C'mon, Mew. We have to have our battle!" Wally, completely oblivious to the tension in the air, pulled me outside. I was wondering what scent Wanda had used to keep her house smelling so fresh, but it turned out she didn't even need to use anything. The entire outside of her house, the entire town, in fact, was covered in flowers and blossoming trees. The people were either watering them or trimming them. There was a pokecenter, a pokemart, and even a contest hall. But I didn't feel in the slightest mood to try for another ribbon. What was going on then was more important.

Without even issuing a challenge, Wally sent out his kirlia. The pokemon started swaying with the grass in the background, humming a delicate tone. The look in her eyes were deep, almost dreamy. I was about to pull out Eve when a warm hand stopped me. Red grabbed the ball from my hand and instead handed me a different one from my belt: Plums' ball. I gently pulled away to look back at him, but he had sent out Eve without my permission. She got out of the ball, saw Red, and let out a squawk of happiness. She then proceeded to jump in his arms, where he let her gently and slowly. Having seen me stated, he gestured to Wally, who had his arms crossed in impatience.

"Right," I said. "Plum, I choose you!" My kirlia appeared on the battlefield, pumped up and ready to go. "Use disarming voice!"

"Kirlia, dodge it! Use magical leaf!" Wallys pokemon dodged the beams of pink light with amazing ease. As soon as she was out of the way, a barrage of purple leaves took Plum by surprise. He stood up and managed to dodge a small portion of it before dropping to a knee, panting. This kirlia was the real deal. If I wanted to win, I'd have to try something different.

"Plum, use psychic!" He did as told. As soon as the mind wave hit her, Wallys' kirlia closed her eyes and focused on blocking it out. "Quick, magical leaf! Use disarming voice to make the leaves hit even harder and faster!" Right as Wallys' kirlia heard my command, she opened her eyes. But she had already been hit by the blunt force of Plums' mixed attack. She flew backwards and landed on the grass. "Now! Growl! Really give her a headache!"

"Use growl, too!" Wally shouted. "Even louder!" The two pokemon took w breath in in unison before expelling the loudest, must bloodcurdling growl there was. They both lasted on two seconds before both being knocked unconscious.

We had tied.

"Cool!" Wally shouted, returning his pokemon. I followed suit and did the same. "Your pokemon was using that one move, and mine couldn't dodge, so we both, and then..." He sighed. "I love pokemon so much!" His joy lifted my heart a bit.

"Why don't you try and train other pokemon?" I suggested. The look on his face was confused. "You can have up to six pokemon on a team, you know. You can train others, too."

"Ohhhh!" He realized. "I didn't even think about that! Thanks!" Red appeared at my side again, Eve sitting on his shoulder. He tapped his wrist like he was in a rush.

"We have to get going, Wally," I translated. He looked disappointed. "But I promise we will battle again. Soon. And you better have a bigger team when I get back!" The determination in his eyes nearly filled the air.

"I promise! Next time I battle you, I will win!" Then he raced off towards the pokemon center. I was about to follow, but Red stopped me. He took the pokeball from my hand and started healing Plum with a max revive he had somehow gotten ahold of. When he was done, he handed it back to me. His finger tapped against his wrist again.

I stared at him. He stared back. The red in his eyes was scary, so I became the first to talk. "How did you find me?" He rolled his eyes, grabbed my hand, and started leaving me out of Verdanturf town. The route next to it was completely clear if trainers that must've left as soon as Mauville was overrun. "How did you find me?" I repeated when we were out of earshot of everyone nearby.

He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a PokeNav. Before I could grab it, he returned it. I stuck out my lower lip in a pout.

"Are you going to talk at all?" Silence was all he gave me as an answer. He took the lead. Eve was still on his shoulder, but she looked so content, I decided it would be better to do as he implied. I followed him.

Mauville had been evacuated the night before, so it was as quiet as the night I had been killed for the second time. There was no longer any sign of jirachi. I was sort of relieved. He had created this, now I had to undo it. I paused that thought. Or did I create that problem? The thought of Steven or Brendan dying was heavy on my mind. Mew two had promised their safety, but it still made me uneasy.

Red walked me straight through Mauville and out without a word. It was then that I realized what I had forgotten.

"I didn't compete against the gym." He swiftly threw something small over his shoulder. I caught it right before it smacked me in the face. It was the Mauville city gym badge. He had gotten it somehow. "Isn't this cheating?" He stopped and looked over his shoulder. I don't know what it was, but I understood exactly what he was implying. "I guess the Dewford badge didn't really count either." He nodded once then turned back on the road. "How did you know about that?"

He threw a pokeball over his shoulder. A familiar espeon emerged, swishing her tail through the air. I blinked in surprise. Then, before I could ask her any questions, he returned her. I pulled up beside Red, looking for some answers in his eyes. He kept his focus directly ahead, ignoring me.

"So how did you manage to get her back after all that happened?" He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "You know, the whole abandoned ship sinking and whatever." Red took a quick moment to think. Without stopping, he drew attention to his hands. He held them up, showed me the front and back of them, and then did that weird trick where it looked like he was pulling his fingers off from each other through an optical illusion. He lifted his eyebrows several times while he did it, as if it was a hint. "Magic?" I guessed. He pointed at me, smiling faintly. Then he was set back on the trail.

For a while, all we did was walk in silence. When we were far enough north from the city, we came across a row of boulders that were too large and wide for us to fit between. I tried moving them to no avail. They were just far too heavy. They had cracks in them, but there was no possible way to crack them without the help of a stronger pokemon. Red sent out his espeon.

"Um, she doesn't know rock smash," I pointed out. I opened my mouth to say more, but the psychic type pokemon had jumped high in the air. She spun a few times and then took off rapidly back to Earth, where she shattered all four of the boulders with one sweep of her glowing tail. The rocks crumbled to bits and left behind were two geodudes, both of which had fainted in the process. Espeon landed, purring and rubbing up against Reds' leg. He returned her and started on the trail. "Pokemon can't learn more than four moves. Why does yours know five?" He rolled his eyes and did the finger trick over again, this time slower. "Ok, ok. I get it. Magic."

He did a little applause. We continued on the trail. I was tempted to ask him more questions, but he had his way of proving me wrong and making a joke about it. The dude didn't even talk and seemed to just breathe sarcasm. I've heard the stories: he doesn't talk, he just battles and battles. That's what it was like when he was the Kanto region champion, but he had grown bored of never being defeated and handed it off to his own rival, Blue. From then on, nobody really saw him. Word had it he was out in the world trying to catch every pokemon. That reminded me.

"How are you friends with Mewtwo?" I pulled up beside him to get his answer. Red took a deep breath, like he was getting annoyed, and held out an ultra ball. "You… you caught him?" He nodded. "But you let him do as he likes then? Why would you bother catching him?" He put the ultra ball away so he could pull out his pokedex. "Oh. You needed the information."

A warm breeze started to pick up around us. Red reached into his coat pocket and handed me a pair of goggles. I took them from him slowly. "We going swimming or something?" The look on his face expressed that I was an idiot in his eyes. He pulled out a pair of his own and wrapped them around his head. I did the same, somewhat embarrassed by him. As we started walking further and further down the road, I began to understand what he meant by giving me these. There was a sandstorm kicking up in the direction we were heading. It was getting so nasty that I was being pushed around, my footsteps like a drunkard. I tried holding my arms to try and balance myself, but I was too small and skinny to hold my own.

Red grabbed my arm right as I began to be pushed away and tucked me under his arm and into his jacket, where he began to pat my side: a sign to let him lead the way. I blushed. Was I annoying him by being so weak through the storm, or was he just doing this out of kindness?

The grass gave way to sand and the air became thick with dust and sand. We were both slowed by the pummeling storm now. If we didn't have goggles on, we would both definitely be blinded. Red held me closer and pushed harder, the red gleam in his eyes unmasked. If I were to get separated from him, all I would have to do is look for that red glow. It was so brilliant and strong that nothing could hope to cover it.

There were trainers nearby with goggles of their own, but Red made sure to avoid them. He knew I didn't have any pokemon who could fight in this weather without being blown away. That or he didn't want to wait. Either way, we didn't engage in a single battle. I huddled closer to him from under his jacket and instinctively held onto his hand. He squeezed me gently.

The wild pokemon that came across our path didn't stand a chance against Red's espeon. Every time he sent her out it took a total of five seconds to end the battle. I feel like the only reason he battled them was because he knew the rest would see and stay away, which they did. They grew so scared of him and Espeon that when he drew near, they dove beneath the sand and didn't surface until we were well out of the way. I wonder if that was how everyone saw Red in Kanto. Fearsome, powerful, scary. I know I wouldn't like to be known like that.

The storm started to ease up. The sand grew shallower and it became easier to walk through. We began to exit the route that had trapped us in the flurry of sand and dirt. Grass began to appear beneath our feet. The air cleared and I could breathe without holding my sleeve over my mouth. Though we were now safe, Red refused to release me from his grasp. He started running his hand down my side delicately. It felt nice, but the look on his face was unchanged. It was like he was a statue. I wanted to ask him why he acted like this, but I lost myself while being held so close. I huddled closer and marched my footsteps to the beat of his. I wasn't sure if I imagined it, but he chuckled. When I looked to meet his eyes, his expression was unchanged.

By the time we were able to remove our goggles, so much sand had gathered in my clothes that I felt like a walking sand monster. It was irritating my armpits, my hair, and my shoes. Red was likewise covered, but he refused to show any signs of struggle. He did stop when he noticed my growing annoyance.

He held out an ultra ball and gestured for me to put my goggles back on. As soon as I did as told, he held out his hand, gesturing towards the ball. I assumed he was asking for permission of some sort. I didn't know what it was, so I just agreed. There was no telling what my mistake was until he sent out a blastoise.

"U-u-um, I don't think that's- BLARGH!" His blastoise, using the water he produced from his mouth instead of the ones from his canons, splashed me with icy cold water. It wasn't enough to knock me off my feet but it was plenty to open my eyes a little bit. I turned around a few times, allowing him to get every grain of sand off me. When the water pokemon finished, I was soaking wet and freezing cold. I stood there, shivering. Night had just fallen so a breeze was wafting through the air, freezing me. I thought the pokemon master was going to let me freeze until he called out his charizard.

He gathered up a few sticks from some trees nearby and set them up, tipi style, beside one of the larger rock formations to the side of the path. There was a slight overhang so if it did rain, which I'm sure it wouldn't, the fire wouldn't go out. Charizard helped him get some extra firewood and set the soon-to-be bonfire inside some rocks to keep it from spreading. As soon as he was done, his charizard used ember on the sticks, bringing it to life. Red sat down on some logs he pulled up from a dead tree he had found and looked towards me. I had watched them in silence. I was still dripping wet and cold, so his invitation for me to sit next to him was taken up right away.

Stars hung above our heads, most masked by the overhang of the cliff, but the rest far enough out of the way to see. Red returned Charizard and started prodding the fire with a stick, setting the rest ablaze. I shivered and held my hands over the fire. I even scooted closer and warmed myself up further. Ash started forming on the base of the tipi. I felt a gentle weight hit my back and realized that Red had tossed me his jacket. It had been shaken enough so there were no grains of sand left on it.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. He met my eyes and nodded once before returning to the fire. I undid my fanny pack, relieved that my items were not soaked, and pulled out two soda pops. I handed one to Red. He stared at me. "Don't act so tough. Every human needs to drink at some point in their life." Red smirked faintly and took it from me, undoing the lid with a flick of his finger. He drank the whole thing in two big gulps. "So you were thirsty and didn't tell me?"

"..."

"Are you hungry?" I pulled out a bag of berries I had kept when Steven and I had been mixing pokeblocks. I handed him a cherri berry, but his hand went right past it and grabbed a pecha berry instead. He started taking small bites from it. I took a pecha berry of my own and devoured it. He glanced at me sideways, a hint of a smile on his lips. "I haven't eaten since we left," I protested. "A few carrots does not make a full meal."

"Neither does a few scrawny berries." I stopped eating and looked to him. He blinked at me.

"So you can talk."

"When I feel like it, yes." He looked to the stars. "I don't speak to anybody. You just wouldn't shut up."

"You need to talk more. I'm stuck in the predicament and only you can answer my questions."

"Only me?" he hinted sarcastically. I stared at him. "You must understand, there are people and pokemon wiser in this world than me with answers."

"Mewtwo won't tell me anything," I argued.

"Maybe because you yell at him?" I was taken aback at his words.

"You know I do that? How?"

"Mewtwo is my pokemon. He tells me everything." I didn't say anything to that. "He's hard on the outside, but once you get to know him, he's actually a lot more likeable. Maybe you should try being friends with him next time you die."

"Next time I die?" The words were chilling. I didn't want to die again. I know eight lives was a lot for anybody, but it just didn't seem like enough for me. I was pretty careless with them, I'll admit that. "I don't want to die again." Red lifted his hat back and moved the hair from his eyes.

"Then watch your back. It's better to always know what's going on around you." I pondered his words and wrapped his jacket around me tighter. "You do possess a lot of power. Perhaps you should try using it?"

"I can't with people around."

"There's only me right now." He poked the almost dead fire with a stick before adding a few more blocks of wood. "Light this again. It's fairly easy. Even charmanders can do it." I stared at the wood sticks. Then I opened my mouth and blew. A little bit of a flame came out from deep in my stomach and dropped weakly to the wood. The spark was so small it went out before it even left a mark on the wood. Frustrated, I blew harder. The whole fire exploded to life with the flames I had procured. I fell backwards, surprised. Red chuckled. "You're like a newly hatched growlithe," he observed.

"I hope that's a compliment," I mumbled, righting my chair and sitting down.

"It is. Growlithes are naturally powerful so when they're born, there's so much potential they don't know what to do with it."

"You remind me of back home." He went silent. "Why are you here, anyways? Why are you helping me?"

"I have to keep a promise to an old friend." He looked to me. "You probably heard of him. The guy who made you part pokemon when you were just a fetus."

"You consider Giovanni an old friend?" I said in disbelief. "Didn't you force him to disband Team Rocket and go into hiding?"

"No," Red confessed. "He merely said he was sick of me meddling. So to put an end to it, we battled. If I won, he was to disband Team Rocket. If he won, I was to let him do as he please for the rest of my life. I just happened to win." He paused. "As soon as I did, he told me everything he had been doing as the leader of that terrible group. He told me all the pokemon I needed to release from his lair, all the people I needed to arrest, and lastly the experiment he would never be able to complete: you." He threw his stick into the fire. "He had hoped that when you turned 10 and got your first pokemon, he would be able to guide you into destroying this world he despised so much with the powers he knew you would have. But I watched you grow up inside that house in Saffron. You never had pokemon of your own, you never showed any sign of significant power. So I fulfilled my own dream while you were safe in Saffron. I became the Kanto champion. I beat my rival. I did everything I wanted to. When I realized that you had left for Hoenn, I came here, guided by Mewtwo. He told me of what had transpired while I had been gone. And now here we are."

"So you're here to watch me as an experiment?" I asked. He sighed.

"In a way, yes. In another way, it's a promise I had to keep. In a third, I think you'd make a good companion." I blushed. "You battle with such amazing ability. You might just beat your boyfriend one day."

"But it's not really my destiny to become champion, right?"

"..."

"I mean, don't I have to stop the world for being destroyed?"

"Haven't you thought about what comes after that?" I took a moment to think. "If you play your cards right, you might just have enough lives left after saving the world to become champion."

I wrapped his jacket tighter around my shoulders. "I better get to sleep. We have to travel a lot tomorrow if we are going to save the boys." He stood up off the log and propped himself up against the rock wall. I got off mine and lie in the dirt. I was so exhausted that I didn't even remember lying my head down on the ground.

The Storm Is Too Strong, You Cannot Continue!

Mew Received Go-Go Goggles!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…


	26. I Reach Fallarbor Town!

Chapter 26

I woke up to Red kicking some dirt over the glowing embers of the fire. This extinguished the rest of it so it didn't catch light again. He put his hands in his pockets and blinked in my direction. I took the hint and got to my feet. I realized then that I had been sleeping with his jacket on after he had just gotten it back.

"Oh, sorry." I held it out to him. "You can take it back."

"..." I twitched.

"You're not seriously going all silent again, are you?"

"..."

"Why do you even bother with that?" I asked. "You can talk, why not let the world know? Just be somewhat likeable." He narrowed his eyes at me. "You're more likeable when you talk," I added. "Just saying, you wouldn't scare so many people if you didn't put on this personna every day." I slid the jacket on and walked past him. He chuckled and grabbed my arm, pulling me behind him. Then he began to walk. "Are you making me follow you?" He glanced at me from over his shoulders. His eyes were back to being ignited into red orbs. "I don't know the way, but it can't be that hard, right?" He faced forward again. "Ugh, you never answer any of the questions I have straightforward. Can you at least tell me how I got your espeon back in Dewford?" He held up his hands over his head, prepared to show me the optical illusion again. I stopped him by punching him softly on the back. I stepped up to his side. "You're a terrible person." He chuckled again.

As soon as we were out of seeing distance of the desert, we climbed between some ledges on a steeper slope. There was a turn to our left we could have taken, but Red urged me past it. I did as told, but kept glancing that way. It stopped at a cave that seemed to travel through the rock formations to my left, leading back south. I guess Red knew his way around here, even if he was from the Kanto region. We went further, passing by an old womans' house, some berry trees which I picked for the road, and a few trainers. Red refused to battle them and instead let me. I defeated them all fairly easily, but he chuckled, as if watching me was like watching puppies brawl in a dog bed.

When I had finished, both sides of the rock formations around us turned sharply to the left. We had no choice but follow it this time. When we did, I saw something amazing: land that was covered in ashes like it was snow. There were piles of ash that kids played in and jumped out at others who drew near to surprise them. Spindas were especially fond of the tall grass that had been heavily covered by ash. They pranced from one patch to the next, happily taking in the smell of ashes.

I pulled out my PokeNav. "This should be the final strip to Fallarbor. That's where Mewtwo said Brendan is." Red chuckled and gently pushed past. "Hey, don't leave me! I can't do this by myself!"

We passed by all the kids playing in the ashes. The majority were in ninja costumes, where the rest were girls in fairy tale outfits. They were having a lot of fun playing rescue the princess with their own pokemon and some wild spinda that happened to groggily pass by and fall in front of them. That's where they pretended they had been invaded and continued onwards. Just seeing them made my chest ache.

I wish I had gotten to play with pokemon when I was a child.

Red tapped my leg, drawing my attention. He was looking up towards the sky, where ashes began falling even harder. Now they were starting to weigh my clothes and hair. He showed me his sleeve, which he pulled up in front of his face like a mask. I did the same.

That's weird, I thought to myself. I wonder what would've caused such a downfall all of a sudden. I know there was a lot of ash as was, but what was falling now was double, maybe triple that. Red seemed to notice, too and started turning towards the south. There was a mountain, no, a volcano there. It was tall and wide, but the most defining part of it was the smoke coming out of it. It was unusually active, and I was interested to find out why.

I had been paying so much attention to the volcano that I wasn't prepared to be jerked by the arm forward by Red, who was dashing even faster than I could hope to outpace. We ran through giant stacks of ash, knocking several kids to the ground, and even a few spindas into each other. We reached Fallarbor town in record time. But when we got there, Red released me and took off further west. I tried to follow for a few seconds, but there was no way I could catch up.

"Alright then," I whispered to myself. "I'll just find Brendan myself."

Fallarbor town was not too pretty. There was a contest hall, a pokemart and a pokecenter, but the rest of it was grass that had been suffocated by ash, dirt, and some crops that looked like they wouldn't be blooming any time soon. There was about four houses, yeah, this place was tiny. Everybody who lived here seemed to have forced themselves to adjust to it. One guy was even mining a cave behind his house like he was trying to get away from it all. I went into several houses and found no trace of Brendan. Not a thing. In fact, no one had even heard of the boy. They had only seen Steven taken by Team Magma straight through the town.

I walked out into the open and sat on the dirt, sleeve still over my mouth. Where was Red? Maybe I should've followed him. Chances were he knew this place was a dump and no one, not even Team Aqua would want to keep a hostage here.

"M… Mew!" I looked over my shoulder.

Oh sweet Arceus. Brendan was right behind me. And he brought a pack of Team Aqua goons with him.

Mew Reached Fallarbor Town!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

Hey readers, Mew Ike here! I have to plan the story a little bit more before adding any more chapters to the story. (I also have finals and some moving out to do along with the holidays.) I will be doing several updates to older chapters, but for a while I probably won't be posting any new chapters for a short while. Keep leaving reviews and giving feedback, I love it! Hope to see you all soon! I'll be back soon, and the story will only get more exciting!

-Mew Ike


	27. Happy Holidays, Readers! Bonus Chapter!

Bonus Chapter 27

Hey Readers! Bonus chapters are what I use to get over writers' block yet still want to write. Each bonus chapter will take place in other areas of the pokemon world at different given times, so they're not really a part of the storyline, but there are a few things in each of them you need to read for later on in our heroes adventures. Enjoy Bonus Chapter 27, Christmas in Fallarbor Town!

-Mew Ike

"You'd think that Brendan would be up by now," Steven said, as I took a bite of a pecha berry bagel. "Someone like him must love Christmas. He's been looking forward to it all week." I finished chewing before swallowing.

"He sleeps like a rock," I said. "I tried waking him up and he just laid there like a rag doll. If it hadn't been for his obnoxious snoring, I would've mistaken him for dead." I spread a little more moomoo cream cheese on my meal. "I doubt he heard me over the sound of those snores…"

A loud shattering was heard in the background. Steven took a sip of his lemonade before speaking.

"Sounds like he just woke up." Another shatter, this one followed by Nurse Joy's scolding shout. She was halfway through it when Brendan jumped over the front counter, knocking a few pokeballs down in the process, and landed in front of our table. He was wearing his obnoxiously large sableye t-shirt and a worn pair of pajama pants that looked to be patterned with all the eeveelutions. Nurse Joy came out behind him, appalled at the mess he had made. She was about to come tell him off, but Steven waved her away, mouthing, "I'll take care of it." She stomped her foot and turned away.

"It's Christmas you guys," he said, excited down to the marrow in his bones. He threw his pokeballs in the air. Numel, shroomish, and marshtomp appeared. I followed suit and did the same. Plum, Sinbad, and Eve emerged from their containers, each happy as can be. Steven sipped his lemonade with shut eyes.

"Why aren't you bringing yours out?" I asked.

"I have to keep some of them a secret if you're going to battle me one day," he said. "Besides, some of them are too big to all fit in here. I'll give them their presents later on today when we are outside." I turned towards the window. In fallarbor, there was no such thing as a white christmas. It was either a rather dark shade of grey christmas or an all-around black christmas. It would snow here, but everything would be covered in ash. I was beginning to wonder if I should've followed my parents on the cruise to sootopolis, then decided against it. I had better things to do than waste a whole week on a cruise made for older couples.

"C'mon, let's open gifts." Brendan was as excited as I thought he was. "You guys did get me something, right?"

"Yep." I handed him a present poorly wrapped in spheal gift wrap. He looked at it, to me, then back to it. "What?"

"You wrap like a 5 year old." His words came out behind a barely concealed smile. "It's like you tried to hide something in here in a hurry."

"It took me forever to wrap that," I retorted. "I used like half a roll just practicing." He raised his eyebrows at me, stifling laughter. "If you don't want it, give it back."

"No, no, I want it." He pulled up a chair and sat down. Steven slid him a present of his own. This gift, wrapped with clear tape and immaculate folding and cutting, was half as large as mine and decorated with paper that depicted a cosplay pikachu in an ice outfit. "That's pretty girly, even for you. What, did you take wrapping classes with your mom?" Steven looked at him oddly.

"No, I just wrap a lot of presents." I stared at him. "I have an awful lot of family members I need to get gifts for year round. I can teach you sometime," he offered. I didn't say anything because Brendan was there, but I accepted his offer silently.

"First off, Mew's present." He ripped off the wrapping paper without even trying. "Pokemon Delta Emerald for Wii U?" He was utterly baffled. "Where did you get the money for this?"

"I found a ton of money in the couch we sold before we left Saffron," I explained. "I bought it for myself, but since you helped me get a pokemon, I thought you should have it. I don't play the games anymore." He smiled.

"Hey, thanks. Anything for a friend." He put it in his bag and pulled out Steven's gift. He had to rip it open to try and see what was inside, for Steven had wrapped it so tight and perfect there were no edge to tear at. When he opened it, he saw that it was a stick of deodorant and a few mints. "The hell, Champs?"

"Take the hint," Steven replied.

"Awh, you were thinking of my health." Brendan stood up. "C'mere. I want a hug."

"I'm not hugging you."

"C'mon. Hug time. Bro to bro."

"I'll consider it if you at least put on the-" Brendan reached down and hugged the champion regardless of what he said. Our pokemon laughed. As soon as he released him, Steven dropped into the chair. The expression on his face looked utterly disgusted. "You are the worst kind of person." He started brushing himself off and adjusting his hair.

"You know you love me," Brendan said. He reached under the table and pulled out a medium sized package that he even hadn't bothered to wrap, but did put in a box. Steven stared at it. "C'mon, it's nice." Steven leaned forward and ripped the tape off before opening it. Inside was a blanket with Brendan's face printed on it repeatedly. He was making different stupid expressions in random order. Despite being ugly, it was well made and soft, enough to cover an average bed.

"Thanks?" Steven questioned. "It's well made, soft, and strong, but why did you have to make it so ugly?"

"I thought if you ever needed something to cheer you up, you could pull that up and have a good laugh. It's also good for the winter months made out of mareep wool, so it won't get static."

"That's actually quite nice." Steven slung it over his shoulder. "Thank you, Brendan. I admire your textile skills."

"Only took two months," he replied.

"We haven't even known you that long…" I whispered.

"Oh, that's right. A week then." I put my face in my hands.

"You make no sense." I ignored his laughing and pulled out a smaller gift and handed it to Steven. He chuckled at the wrapping job before delicately opening it. Inside was a bracelet I had made back in Saffron. It was lonely up in my room, so I asked my dad to bring home some crafting supplies while I was bored. He had given me some supplies to make friendship bracelets, but only enough to make one. So while staying the night in Rustboro, I had strung together Steven's name with the letter beads. The rest was only elastic rope, which he slipped around his wrist almost immediately. It slumped down his arm a little bit before stopping on his sleeve.

"It's gorgeous," Steven said happily. He met my eyes and nodded. "Thank you, Mew. It won't ever come off my wrist." He handed me a box about the same size. "You might like what I got you, then."

I picked up the box and peeled off the tape using my nails before catching sight of the expensive box that my gift had come in. Before opening it, I stopped.

"It better not be expensive," I warned him. He just smiled and gestured for me to continue. I did, and sure enough, inside was an amethyst necklace that made an outline of mew. I smiled and sniffled.

"Aw, she's gonna cry." Brendan picked me up and hugged me just like how he did, Steven, though I was a lot lighter and he almost accidentally tossed me across the room. He gave me a noogie while saying, "Wait till you see my gift. It's even better."

"I doubt that," Steven challenged calmly. Brendan set me back down in my chair and ruffled my hair, making it worse. He then proceeded to drop a slightly large box in my lap. I fixed my hair slightly before setting it on the table and opening it. There were two bracelets inside, one with several different espeon charms, the other with various umbreon charms. He took the espeon one and started latching it around my wrist.

"Friendship bracelet," he explained. "Steven already has one of his own, so we get these."

"I have a feeling you didn't plan that I would get a bracelet…" Steven whispered.

"Nope, I saw her making it." When he had finished on mine, he did his own. "You kept talking about that espeon, so I figured you'd be better off with a reminder of her."

"Thank you," I said. "That's really thoughtful of you."

"Now, gifts for your pokemon," he said. I looked to Steven. He had the same look on his face.

"You got gifts for our pokemon, too?" I asked.

"Yep, wanted to outshine you both because I knew you wouldn't do the same." He laughed while the two of us rubbed our temples. He got out from the table and leaned down to Eve. "For you, a blazikenite I found. For you, Plum, a galladite. And for Sinbad, because you don't really have a known mega evolution, a leaf stone." He showed them each their items before handing them to me. I stared at them.

"Um… mega evolution?"

"You'll learn about that later," Brendan promised, then flicked a marble-looking mega stone towards Steven. "Metagrossite," he said simply with a smile.

"Oh, wow." Steven seemed genuinely impressed. "These are pretty hard to get. How did you manage to find them for our pokemon in particular?"

"I have my ways."

"Well whatever ways they are, keep doing them." He put the stone in his pocket. "I have to admit it, Brendan, you seem to have a lot of money and outside sources for a lot of the things you do. I'm kind of curious."

"That's a good thing to be curious about, cuz you'll be curious for a long time." He sat back down. "Well, this was a successful Christmas. Should we get traveling?"

"Let's stay here," Steven said, looking out the window. "There's no place we need to be in a hurry. I'm sure we can spend the day relaxing, right?"

"I can play my new game," Brendan said, excited. He opened his bag and pulled out an entire Wii U.

"You-you bring that everywhere you go?" I couldn't help but smile. "You are so weird, Brendan."

"And you're so weird, too." He punched my shoulder, then Steven's. "You're just plain weird."

"I'm sure that's how you see me." Brendan ignored him and pulled up the touchpad to his gaming console. I wasn't even sure how it still had batteries after being in his bag for so long, but nonetheless, it powered up. He pulled my chair closer to him and leaned into Steven. "What on Earth are you doing?"

"It's this thing all the teenagers are doing. It's called 'selfies.'" Steven jumped out of his chair, his cool gone for a second. "Wait, come back, we need a picture."

"I don't take pictures." Steven said simply, tucking his hands in his pockets. "Especially for you."

"For me?" I said, putting on the cutest face I could. The champion couldn't have sat down any faster.

"First you two," Brendan said, sitting up and aiming the console at us. "Do a cute pose, you two, this is going on a christmas card." Steven chuckled and held out his hand in the shape of half a heart. I smiled and completed it with my hand. The two of us smiled, laughing somewhat, as Brendan took the picture of us. Then, as soon as he was done, he picked me up, ignoring Steven's look of surprise, and pulled me close to him. "Say cheese, Mew!" I started blushing when he tried to take a hold of my hand, immediately snapping the picture.

"I suppose you won't take a picture of the two of us?" Steven assumed, looking at Brendan.

"Nope," he replied. "I don't take pictures with loser, Steve-o." As annoyed as Steven looked at being called his old nickname, he couldn't help but smile. Brendan started laughing, then I found myself doing the same.

Click! Brendan took another picture.

"H-hey, I wasn't ready," I stammered, reaching for the Wii U.

"Don't be upset," Brendan said. "Look at it." He held it out to me. Hey, that picture wasn't half bad. I didn't really take good pictures, but that one was surprisingly cute and photogenic. I smiled. "See? Even you like it." He pulled Steven and I under his arms. "You guys are the best! Thanks for the great Christmas! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," I said, trying to catch a breath.

"Merry Christmas," Steven said.

Best wishes, holiday cheer, and happiness come this holiday season! Be safe and enjoy the time with your friends and family! Wherever you are and whatever you celebrate, make it the best!

Your favorite Author,

Mew Ike

Enjoy these pictures I edited to look more like our heroes! It's my tumblr, follow it if you want to! My tumblr name is tyedyemew14! I just posted the pictures! Check them out!


	28. Kill Anyone But Steven! Please!

Chapter 28

"Eve, Plum, Sinbad, c'mon out!" I tossed all three of my pokeballs in the air. They emptied the pokemon inside them and returned to my belt. "Brendan, duck!" He dropped to the dirt and put his hands over his head. "Sinbad, razor leaf! Take out all of them in one sweep!" He had already prepared it before I had spoken. Leaves lashed out at the Team Aqua goons, taking them all to their knees to avoid it. "Plum, knock them out of here with disarming voice!" My kirlia did as told. Brendan. Dropped to his stomach, as flat as could be, before Plum shouted, throwing every Team Aqua grunt into the crops that would never grow. Eve ran forward and took Brendan by the wrist, dragging him towards me. He was covered in ash and sweat but I still hugged him. He immediately hugged me back, squeezing with such strength I didn't think about breathing until he had let go.

Plum's display had chased away the rest of Team Aqua by the time we had finished. Brendan and I embraced again.

"Thank god you're ok," he whispered. "Thank you for saving me, Mew."

"Anything for my best friend." We pulled apart. "Have you seen Steven?" Brendan shook his head. My heart sunk.

"We can still go after him," Brendan said. He helped me to my feet. "Team Aqua and Magma are up ahead. They have someone else hostage. A scientist."

"My husband!" A lady behind us had watched with tearful eyes while we spoke. She put her hands on the side of her head and dropped to her knees. "All those people... You said they have a scientist hostage, that must be my husband. He's always getting into tangled with strangers. If anyone shows the slightest interest in rocks, he puts all his trust in them."

"Does your husband know a lot about a certain meteorite?" Brendan asked. She nodded. "Well, we now know who they have." He walked up to the woman and held her hands in his. "He'll be fine. We're going to save him right now." He turned in my direction. My pokemon and I all bowed our heads in a curt nod. Brendan smiled. "We will take care of it from here." As soon as he had ushered her back into her house, he looked to me. "Mew, the two teams are working together to get the information on this meteorite. If they have to corporate, that means it must be very important. We have to stop them from learning anything from Professor Cosmos."

"That's his name?" I verified.

"Yes." I stepped up to his side. "Chances are, they'll have Steven, too. We have to leave now."

"Agreed." I accepted his challenge and started off ahead of him. I took the largest and quickest steps I could to try and stay ahead of Brendan, but he outpaced me in only a few strides. He decided to keep me beside him, however. I was slow, but not so much where he would've left me behind.

We darted across the bridge and into some tall grass, which Brendan had sprayed clear with a repel before we had entered. Trainers tried to initiate battle with us but we passed them rudely. There was a cave entrance up ahead, but to get to it we had to go around a pathway because the jump was too high. I remember seeing the trail for one minute then falling to my knees the next. I thought I was just clumsy, but further inspection made me realize I had fallen into a giant crater.

Brendan had jumped but failed to cross it. We had to scale a steep slope to make our way out. Brendan had to scale it first so he could help me out of it. Now that we were on the same to rude as the entrance, I noticed that the entire Earth was speckled with craters. We would have to do more of a detour to ensure that we didn't get stuck again.

We entered the cave. The first thing I noticed was that the cave was gorgeous. It was a work of centuries of water whittling down the cave so there were no sharp edges or rocks: just a smooth surface of darker white stone wherever you looked. The water was so clear you could see every pokemon swimming beneath the waves as we crossed the bridge. It was even so clear I saw where people made wishes and dropped coins. Some barboch at the time were fighting over a fifty cent coin.

As soon as we crossed the bridge, a mist of water started enveloping is. A mighty roar cascaded in the background. When we stepped further into the fog, a giant waterfall was revealed to our right. In front of us was Team Aqua and Team Magma, both their leaders with a hand on an ordinary-looking meteorite. Behind them and sitting on the damp, hard rock was a man with glasses. Still no sign of Steven.

"We cooperated, now hand it here," Archie hissed at Maxie, tugging the rock towards him. "Now do your part and give it to us."

"I believe I did the necessary requirements for making Cosmos talk," Maxie retorted. "I believe this goes to me." That's when the two of them noticed Brendan and I approach. My pokemon all shouted curtly to inform the other goons of our arrival.

"Look who it is," Archie said, attempting to snag the stone when Maxie wasn't looking. "Mew and her annoying friend." Brendan's eyes lit up for but a second, a warning for him to shut it.

"I suppose you're here for Steven," Maxie continued with a bored expression. I nodded once.

"Where is he?"

"Safe and sound, I assure you." He turned to Archie. "I'm going to need to show her our prisoner. Do you mind releasing it?"

"Never. I'll never let it get into your hands." The cave shook. Everyone looked around, alarmed. "It appears we have to hurry. Mt. Chimney won't wait for us to settle our differences."

"What are you talking about?" Brendan asked. "What did you do to Mt. Chimney?"

"The volcano is bound to erupt any time now. We both need to harness the power of it and put it in this meteorite, but there's no way we can hope to trust each other with it."

"Give it to me." My words surprised everyone in the whole room. "I don't care about either of you. I'll take it to Mt. Chimney and fill it up with power or whatever. From there, you can continue your fighting." The cave shook again, this time goons were beginning to look scared. "Do it. You know it's the right thing right now."

"Fine," Maxie and Archie said in unison. I approached them, grabbed the meteorite, and plucked it from both their grips. Their eyes were settled on me, tempting me to throw them the stone.

"Where's Steven?" I asked Maxie. The leader, with his hands behind his back, nodded once. This must've been a cue of some sort because some goons pushed past the group behind him.

Steven was with them. He was unharmed and healthy, but his wrists were tied firmly behind his back. I stepped forward, but Maxie held up his hand. I was forced to stand still. Steven looked at me with such intense longing that it nearly broke my heart.

"You swear to not choose sides when it comes to the meteorite?" Maxie confirmed.

"I swear," I promised, looking between the two leaders. The two of them met eyes, nodded, then looked back to me. Maxie shoved Steven towards me. I grabbed him and started undoing his wrists. He leaned into me, hugging me as best he could.

The cave rumbled again. This time, stalagmites were beginning to fall. Everyone in the room looked about, antsy to leave.

"We will meet you at Mt. Chimney," Archie said. Them him and his goons began heading out the entrance Brendan and I came in. Maxie gave him a bit of room before following, eyes meeting mine for but a second. By the time they had emptied the room, all that remained were Steven, Brendan, Professor Cosmos and I. I went over and helped the scientist to his feet.

"Thank you, young lady." He adjusted the glasses that gave his eyes a swirling appearence. "Mew, is it? What a peculiar name. I like it."

"Thank you, professor." The cave rumbled again.

"We have to get out of here," Steven declared. I started to agree with him but was abruptly interrupted when the cave began to rumble directly above my head. I was stupid: I should have jumped out of the way when I had the chance, but I instead looked straight towards the ceiling. I was going to be pummeled by thousands of pounds of rocks. I was going to be killed. But, in the few seconds that I saw them falling towards me, I thanked Arceus that I had eight lives. Steven didn't think about that. He jumped forward, pushed me out of the way,

And took the weight of the rocks on himself.

Mew Received The Meteorite!

Saving Game…

Gave Saved!


	29. There's A Chance! I Can Save Him!

Chapter 29

"_No_!" I didn't think about who was watching. Power started flooding to my fists, almost too much to contain. I darted forward and shattered that rock like it was a clump of sand. When Steven was revealed, I grabbed him and slung him over my shoulder. Professor Cosmos was cowering, hands over his head until Brendan grabbed him and pulled him towards the exit, taking my hand, too.

We got out of the cave right before the entrance caved in on itself. Brendan looked back to gape as the whole of Meteor falls gave way underneath its' own weight. I however, jumped past him and down onto the grass. The trainers had fled far from the crumpling mountain and back towards Fallarbor town. My feet started burning as I forced myself to get there as soon as possible.

I repositioned Steven in my arms so I could see his face. The corner of his mouth was trickling blood, but his eyes were still opened. He smiled weakly at me.

"You're ok," he whispered.

"Why would you do that?" I started. "You know I can live without a life or two, why would you take it on yourself?" He shrugged faintly, smile still stuck on his face.

"I don't know. I've just seen you in so much pain before… I thought taking it for you would make me feel better." He trembled slightly. "And to be honest, it does." His eyes fogged for a second. "Mew, stop. I want to walk to you."

Fallarbor town wasn't too far away, but I couldn't turn him down. I stopped and dropped to my knees, where I gently set him on the ground. He didn't move much; it was as if he had just completely given up moving. He met my eyes, his soft emerald depths consuming mine. My heart started to sink.

"Why did you stop me?" I had barely gotten the words out when he interrupted me.

"Because I'm not going to make it." My heart shattered. I felt a warm hand on my back. Brendan had pulled up next to me, Cosmos behind him. "I need you to promise me you'll be ok and not use your lives up like they're candy." Hot tears started flowing down my cheeks.

"You- no, let's just get you to the pokecenter. I can't-"

"Mew, there's nothing they can do." Tears started filling his eyes as well. "Now promise me you'll be good, ok? I don't want you to cry more than you need to. You'll do just fine."

"You're not going to die," I told him. I grabbed his hand and held it against my heart. It was cold as ice. "I'm not going to let you die. We'll be together forever, remember?" His smile faded.

"Mew, listen to me-"

"No!" I leaned down and pressed myself against him. "He promised you'd be ok. So you will be ok! You hear me?! You're not dying!" He paused for a few seconds. My shoulders continuously sagged. "Please... I don't want to lose you... I've never been able to open up to anyone like I have with you. You can't die right when I saved you!"

Painfully, he lifted his hand and put it on my cheek. I met his eyes again. He was crying just as hard as I was. The calm, collected, Champion Steven was finally losing his cool. I choked on a sob.

"Please, don't cry anymore." His words were soft. "There's plenty of beautiful things in this world. I was just happy to be able to meet and fall in love with one of them." His eyes started fogging. "Mew, I..." Suddenly his hand dropped from my cheek. His head turned to the side and the light faded from his eyes. The air started to turn mournful, so mournful that I began to choke on it.

I pulled my hand close to my chest, clenching it so tightly that my nails pierced my skin and drew blood. I grit my teeth so hard that a few popped out of place. Blood filled my mouth and trickled out the corners. My body began to glow visibly. For a second, I fought that rage that was consuming me. Then I pushed that aside and let the flames of hate consume me. My sight turned red.

"Mew," Brendan said, grabbing my hand. I was quick; I grabbed his own hand and crushed it in my grip. He pulled away, breaking a finger or two in the process. For a second, I could see myself. My body was glowing in a red aura that sizzled and sparked every time I moved. My eyes had turned deep black, so much so that they looked to be just empty sockets. I threw my hand out to the side and a wave of fire flung outwards, singing the side of the mountain it had touched. The flames died out, but my hatred only grew.

"He promised," I growled. "That damn Mewtwo… I'm going to kill him."

"Mew, stop!" Brendan stood and reached towards me. I slapped his hand away. My head rotated in his direction like a possessed doll. "You can't let this affect you! I'm still here! You still have your parents!" He stepped forward. "Think of what's here! Don't let primal rage consume you!"

I pointed to him. "You wouldn't understand," I whispered. Tears started flowing down my face. "You will never understand." The ground started shaking again. I was so controlled by my rage that I punched the ground, sending Brendan and Cosmos flying backwards. A crater the size of a house was left in my wake, the ground completely caved in except for around Steven.

I pulled at my hair then let out a cry that was so bloodcurdling that it broke the sound barrier. The ground quivered from under it. I wanted to crush something. Not just something, but everything. There was nothing more satisfying than the feel of breaking something in my grasp. Primal rage started filling every one of my senses. The power stored in the orbs from the inside of my chest started consuming me.

I took a single step forward, ready to begin my massacre, but something clicked in my head. It was like I had been hit with a tranquilizer. My legs crumbled beneath me and I fainted.

Right when my head hit the dirt, my eyes opened and Mewtwo stood before me. I had been teleported to the world without land or ocean, the world with just stars for a sky. The godlike purple pokemon in front of me opened his mouth in a snarl, ready to tear into me with his words of anger, but I didn't let him. I punched him in the mouth so hard, if he had a any bones in his neck, they would all be broken.

He flew backwards, spitting whatever purple blood he was made of before flipping backwards. Every part of his body was hit by the Earth as some point while he was tumbling backwards, but he stopped and righted himself in the air. He turned to me, eyes just balls of purple fire.

"Come get me, you demon!" I shouted, pounding my fist against my heart. My collarbone shattered from the force of it, but I was on such an adrenaline rush that I didn't even feel the pain. "You took Steven from me. I have the right to take yours from you, now!" I darted towards him so quickly I left fire trailing behind me. He held up a hand and caught my kick before it could take off his little head. He crushed the bones in my leg painfully before tugging me towards him. His eyes were wild.

"Listen here, Mew. Mt. Chimney is about to blow its' top and wipe out the entire Hoenn region, starting where you and your friends are. It'll travel everywhere, to Petalburg where your dad is, all the way to LittleRoot, where your mom is. The entire region will be covered in lava. Only you can stop it and you need to stop it now." I opened my mouth to reply, but he interrupted. "A deal is a deal. Steven died before you were safe, and I am devising a way for you to return him to life." My heart stopped. "But if you don't stop the eruption, I can't do anything for you."

"I'll do it."

"Oh?" Mewtwo said. "What made you change your mind so quickly?"

"I want Steven to live. No, I want everyone to live." I pulled my leg from his grip and stepped onto it, however painful it was. "I just didn't expect you to keep a promise like that."

"Humph," Mewtwo grunted. "It's not like I want to. I just don't want you destroying half of this region in a fit." He held out his hand to me. "Now go, you have to stop the volcano. I can teleport you there, but the rest is up to you. Try your best to not be seen. The last thing we need is the whole region knowing your origins."

He didn't wait for me to reply. I opened my eyes and found myself on the side of a mountain. Not just any mountain, one that was beginning to get hot, fast. I started scaling the side with swift jumps from rock to rock, stopping only to wipe the sweat from dripping into my eyes. I pictured myself as Eve, a combusken, and suddenly the heat was much less of a bother. Still a bother, but much, much less. I began to scale again, this time quicker.

I reached a peak where the rock had been flattened out. There was an entrance to a carriage that scaled both up and down the mountain. It had been abandoned, all the carts at the base of Mt. Chimney. From where I stood, I could smell the pungent odor of burning rocks and fire. The air was rippling around me, the heat so intense that I was beginning to feel the pressure of the heat on my body. It was so thick that the smoke evaporated faster than it was being produced.

I hopped up a little further. There was a walkway where I was stepping, but it stopped abruptly at the edge of the crater. The rest of the path had been given into its' own weight, or melted into the lava directly below it. It was only six feet below me, so there was still a little time before it completely overflowed.

The meteorite trembled in my pocket. I pulled it out and held it above the lava. There was a part of me that expected something spectacular, like a display of sparks or shining lights when I held it above the volcano. But it just dangled from my palm, slightly vibrating. Maxie and Archie had told me to fill this thing with the power of the volcano, but they didn't explain how to do so.

The ground lurched and I was took with it. Luckily I was smart enough to fall backwards and land on my butt then fall headfirst into the lava. In that split second I fell, I noticed that there was a half bridge, or a pier sticking out above the lava. It looked to be made of dense glass and supported an odd-looking machine. It looked like a giant engine with a glass dome on top of it. The glass dome, however, was a perfect fit for holding the meteorite.

I hopped over to it and landed on the glass. The lava from below was so hot that it began burning the soles of my running shoes, but I managed to get the meteorite inside before my feet fried. As soon as the machine had taken the rock as its' own, it began beeping and flashing different lights. It appeared to work on his own, so I hopped back to the edge of the crater to watch it work.

"Now how to stop the volcano," I mumbled. Well, from what I've learned, lava can't be cooled with any Team Aqua symbol on my chest shone brightly. Where was I going to get water? If I started throwing it up all over the lava, I'd run out of breath every few minutes. I looked at my hands. I threw them forward, and a beam of water shot from them and evaporated instantly when it hit the lava. "Colder water," I told myself. "Colder-" The ground rumbled. The glass holding up the machine started to crack. I had been so busy focusing on how to escape I didn't notice that the lava was begin to boil over the glass. Unsure if the machine had stopped working because of the intense heat, I hopped over and shattered the glass with my fist. It would've been easier to use the emergency release, but I was in too much of a rush to activate it.

As soon as the glass began to crack and the machine fell, I was off on the side of the crater, meteorite in my pocket. I held my hands out in front of me and let water pour from them. Steam filled the air so thickly that I found it hard to breathe. I splashed a little of the icy cold water on my face. It felt good, but I focused the rest of it on the magma.

For some reason, it didn't seem to be doing much good. I hopped backwards and took a moment to think. Then, I realized that using just a water gun wouldn't work. I'd need all sorts of water type moves to stop it.

"Hydro pump!" The water hit the magma but only sizzled before evaporating. No damage done. "Surf!" A whole wave scattered over the top of the volcano, but it only sunk right through, leaving only a few shards of earth behind that only melted into the lava. "Hydro canon, soak, water pulse, aqua jet, brine, water shuriken!" Nothing was working. I began to panic. The lava was almost the the rim now. I could see bubbles of the hot plasma begin pouring over the sides.

Well, I had no idea what I was doing. I got the meteorite, but how was I going to get the lava to a controllable level? Only one choice made sense. I had to fight fire with fire.

Literally.

Mew Put The Meteorite In The Mysterious Machine!

The Meteorite Is Now Fully Charged!

The Mysterious Machine… It Makes No Response Whatsoever.

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	30. I Swim In A Volcano!

Chapter 30

I put my hand on the Team Magma symbol on my chest. It throbbed as I switched from the blue orb to the red orb. Then, when I felt the my body become accustomed to the heat I stepped up to the lava. It started oozing towards me, so I took off my shoes and tossed them atop the transit station. I was scared to see what would happen when it touched me, but when the hot lava poured over my toes, it felt soothing. Sort of like stepping into a warm hot springs. I got about halfway up to my legs in the lava before I heard someone approach from behind.

"Mew."

I turned around. Maxie and Archie were stepping out of the cable car station. They were both wearing suits, one blue and the other red, that made them look like they were ready to dive in high pressure water. But when I looked closer, I saw that the lava was not burning their feet from within the suits, nor did it seem to burn them. They stepped up to me, clumsy in their lava retardant suits, and handed me a remote with a single button on it. I pressed it and the remote unfurled around me, creating a suit of my own around me. It was a little big, but it worked.

"You'll need to block the flow from where it's coming out through the earths crust." Maxie explained. "I'm sure you'll find a chunk of diamond or something to put there."

"As in, dive down there?" The two leaders nodded.

"Come up alive. We need the meteorite." I smiled nervously.

"R-right. That's all that matters, right?" I turned around and started off towards the crater. I looked back towards the two of them, but they had disappeared down the mountain. I sighed and, without thinking, dove headfirst into the pit.

You can't see lava like how you see through water. There's no way to see through it, actually. I tried finding my way around in it and got lost almost right away. I had to let my body float to find which way was up before diving straight down. The suit was holding up well, I'll admit, but it didn't help ease the growing fear that it should break. I know, I'm a pokemon and human hybrid God. But being raised as a human, fears like that tend to get to you on first thought.

I swam down what seemed like an endless void of bright orange. Then, like a light out of the darkness, I found the floor to the volcano. Maxie wasn't kidding: it was solid diamond. I blindly used my hands to feel around for where a vent could be coming through. Got it. Well, more like it got me. The hole was tiny, literally the size of my hand. But the amount of magma it was allowing through was staggering. I was nearly blown backwards by the force if it hadn't been for a nearby chunk of diamond that I latched onto like a lifeline.

I moved myself from the spray of magma and started searching around for any stray pieces of diamond. There was a ton around me, but even u couldn't break any off. It was too solid. I might as well just take off the suit and cram it through there.

I paused. That... That idea might actually work.

"Mew?" Maxie's face popped up in front of me. I thought he had teleported to the deep abyss that was Mt. Chimneys vent until I saw his face was merely a hologram on the glass front of my suit. I put a hand over my heart.

"Sweet Arceus," I breathed.

"Now is not the time for praying. I did some research and it turns out the best plug for the vent would be the suit itself."

"Oh, really?" Archie's face was on the screen now.

"No sarcasm," he snapped. "Take off the suit and put it in the vent. It's starting to pour down towards Lavaridge town. My water pokemon can stifle it until it stops."

He disappeared. I started looking where I could possibly take the suit off from, but every hinge and plate was set in place. The only thing I had going for me was a button on the center of the chest piece that glowed like ironman's heart. I pressed it and it automatically snapped off. I grabbed a hold of the diamond ridge next to me and gripped the suit in the other. I bundled power into my fists, took a second to prepare, then punched the suit straight through the vent. I managed to get it to fit through, but as soon as the vent recoiled, the suit stuck. My hand was in it, being crushed under the pressure, but I managed to pull free with only a few wounds that I hoped wouldn't become worsened by the lava.

The rush of lava swirling around me stopped. It was calm. I could see bits of diamond floating around me now. It was clear enough where I could see the sun filtering through. I kicked my legs, realizing my sudden need for air, and burst through the surface.

Where I had come out was not directly up, it was straight out the side of the mountain. I began my tumble down the rocks and lava, hissing in pain every time I made contact with the Earth. I thought I would land on the dirt, but I fell so far down that I ended up in Lavaridge town: right into the hot springs.

I found my way to the surface and broke free of the water, panting. Apparently no one cared that I had fallen from the sky, because various pokemon and trainers were working on stopping the now idle flow of lava that had nearly touched the town.

"Come in for a dip, sweetheart?" I looked to my left. There were too older women in the corner of the springs in floral swimsuits, giggling quietly. That's when I realized something rather important.

All my clothes had burned off in the lava. I was now sitting in the hot springs, naked. Luckily the ladies weren't shouting it out loud. One of them even got out, gesturing for me to stay, while the other smiled kindly.

"Good thing you landed here than in the center of town, right?" she asked politely. I wasn't sure if she had seen me fall from the top of the volcano and come up alive, but I took her words kindly.

"Y-yeah. Thank you." It was then that her friend returned with some tourist-looking Jean shorts and, who would've guessed? A pokemon center T-shirt. Just like the time in Petalburg. I took it from her and hastily got dressed under water. I didn't care at the time if I came out of the springs in drenched clothes. There were more important matters.

I had just walked out of the springs and made my way into the pokemon center when my world went black. Mewtwo appeared before me again, back on the primitive Earth.

"Sloppy," he graded right away. I sighed.

"Better than nothing." I stood up straight. "Your promise. What did you come up with?"

"There is nothing you can give in exchange for a human life other than a human life," he put simply. "In other words, you have to find someone who will die and give their life force to Steven, or you can do it yourself. I think the choice is rather obvious."

"Then do it. I'll give one of my lives to Steven." Mewtwo paused. "What? Did I pick wrong?"

"No," Mewtwo replied. "I've never met anyone who would give their life for someone they admire, than have that person hastily give it back."

"You've never liked someone," I guessed.

"Why like others when you have yourself?" Mewtwo questioned. "I can accomplish anything on my own. The only reason other pokemon rely on trainers is because they are too weak." He paused. "I don't know why I let Red capture me. He would never do such a thing for me."

"I think you're in the wrong mindset." He looked at me oddly. "From what I know, red cares a lot about his pokemon. All of them." I stepped up to him. "Why don't you try opening up? Maybe you'd be surprised." I looked around. "It's boring here. Why do you sit here all the time and watch Earth when you can be enjoying it yourself?"

"I find it comforting to spectate."

"That's what I thought at first, too." He didn't reply. His eyes were immersed in thought. "Come back with me. There's a whole world to explore and be a part of, not just spectate. Why don't you give it a shot?"

"Red must've put you up to this," he assumed. I smiled.

"He said to make friends. That's what I'm trying to help you do."

It was silent for a short while. Then Mewtwo bowed his head and grinned. He swiped his tail across the air.

"Perhaps it is time I return to Earth." He met my eyes. "But I will do it on my own."

"That'll change eventually," I pointed out. "Ready?"

"Yes. Let us return."

Mew Received The Magma Suit!

Mew Discovered Lavaridge Town!

The Soothing Water Of The Hot Springs Relaxed Mew!

Saving Game...

Game Saved!


	31. One Life In Exchange For Another

Chapter 31

Mewtwo teleported me back to the spot near Fallarbor town where I had nearly lost myself in rage. As soon as my feet touched ground, I took off running. The town was still as calm and still as before. The only commotion seemed to be at the pokemon center, where Brendan had just emerged. He waved me over. I grabbed onto him and hugged him tightly. He let out a surprised cough.

"Thank goodness you're ok," I whispered. I released him. "Where's Steven?"

"They're doing everything they can-" He started, but I cut him off.

"They don't need to." He paused. Then, a sad smile spread across his face. "What?"

"How did I know you were going to do that, Mew?" He put a hand on my head and ruffled my hair. "I wish there was more people in the world like. Not the crazy godlike people, but the nice, decent kind." He hugged me again. "Go get him."

"Thank you." Together, we started into the pokemon center. The nurses were busy discussing over some charts, so we slipped past them and into the room. Steven had been put on one of the more comfortable beds, head to the side peacefully, as if he was sleeping. It broke my heart to see it, but at least he wasn't covered in blood anymore. It was eerie to be in the same room as a dead person, but I forced myself to keep calm.

"How do you do it?" Brendan asked before I had thought of it myself. "Do you… um… CPR? Shock him? Slap him?" He snapped his fingers. "That's it. Do that thing from the Disney movies where you kiss them awake. You know, true loves first kiss. Well, according to you two, true loves like third or fourth kiss" I stared at him, twitching. "Oh, don't look at me like that. You know it's a good idea."

I didn't want to agree with him, but it was the only real way I could think to do it. He looked from me to Steven and walked right out of the room, sensing the uneasiness in the air. As soon as he was gone, I sat next to the bed and put my hand on his. It was still as icy cold as before. I lie next to him. His face was so calm and peaceful. It was like he was a few years younger. I put my hand on his frozen cheek.

"Please have this work," I whispered. "I don't want you to die because of me." Then I pressed my lips against his.

A draining force started to press against my chest. I felt the breath from my lungs empty, but held firm. My grip tightened around Steven's hand. A spell of dizziness fell over me so I pressed myself against his cold body and let my muscles relax. The feelings in my legs were gone. My arms began to do the same, so I forced myself to keep my lips on his. Then, as the lights faded from my eyes, the sudden warmth of Stevens' arms filled me.

I opened my eyes. Back in primitive Earth again. Mewtwo wasn't here, which was actually sort of surprising. The ground was cool beneath where I sat, so I lie down and relaxed. It wasn't too comfortable, I admit, but it was something to do to pass the time. My body was numb and my lungs weak, but the longer I lay, the faster life returned to me.

"Mew?" I opened my eyes slightly. I expected Mewtwo, but the voice that had said my name was too soft, too gentle. At first, there was nothing that showed anyone had called my name. There was a few seconds I wondered if I imagined it. Then, "Mew?" I sat up. Sitting delicately on my legs was the ancestor pokemon herself, Mew.

"I didn't think I'd ever meet you," I said, holding out my hand. She hovered over to me and let me rub her head. She covered in short, impossibly soft pink fur. Much like my hair, which I had taken after her. "What do you think? Am I losing lives too fast?"

"No, you're just fine." I sighed.

"Thank Arceus." I fell onto my back, arms sprawled out around me. "Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Leading my friends to their deaths?"

"I wouldn't call it leading them," Mew replied, "they love you too much to stay away. In a way, your fate has become their own. They want to be with you. Your destinies have been intertwined" She paused. "As for their deaths, I'm sure they'll take care of themselves. If not, you will always be there."

"You'll help me?" I asked.

"I'm by your side at all times, Mewthree. I won't ever leave my sister behind." Her bright purple eyes were so happy and determined; I saw myself in them. "Red was right about you, you have a certain spark that draws people to you." Red. I had completely forgot about him.

"Where is he?" I asked. Mew giggled.

"Closer than you think. Don't worry about that now. Are you ready to return to modern Earth?" I nodded.

"Mew? Mew, what happened?" My shoulder was being shaken. "Please, open your eyes." My body was still adjusting, but I managed to open my eyes slightly. It was dark and my vision twisted and warped like carnival mirrors, but I could see the bright green depths of Steven's eyes staring into mine. He moved his hand from my shoulder to my cheek. "Mew, are you alright? What did you do?"

"I, um," I started. "I gave you one of my lives." The look on his face turned slightly more concerned. "Please don't be mad," I continued. "I panicked, I-" He leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine to stop me from talking. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed hard. I had a feeling he wouldn't stop kissing me for a while, so I leaned in just as much. He drew me closer at the waist, where we entwined our legs together. He released me to breathe and put his hand on the back of my head, where he drew me into his neck.

"Thank you," he whispered. There were tears in his voice but he refused to let them show in his eyes. "I don't ever want to leave you. Promise me you'll be safer." I kissed his neck gently. He relaxed slightly but refused to release his grip.

"I promise I'll do my best to be more careful." I hooked my arms under his and snuggled closer. "As long as you do the same."

"I won't put myself in danger unless it's needed." He went back to kissing me, this time more passionately. He started playing with my hair and attempted to get closer, which was near impossible because of how tight he was holding me. He took a break to catch our breath.

"You guys in here?" Brendan asked, coming in. He saw us and laughed. "Of course. It wouldn't be complete without a good make-out session." A pillow hit him square in the face. It dropped to the floor. "I guess we can spend the night here."

Steven and I pulled apart. We sat on the same side of the bed, legs hanging over the side. He put an arm around me and held me close. "Welcome back to the living side," Brendan continued. "I take it you're full of energy."

"If you mean exhausted," Steven replied, "then you'd be right." Brendan rubbed the back of his head.

"Right, I wouldn't know that. Mew would. She took on a volcano today." Steven turned to me slowly as Brendan began explaining. "Apparently she found her way up to Mt. Chimney and stopped a volcano from destroying Lavaridge town. I'm still fuzzy on the details, but apparently she was in lava at least for a minute or two."

"How do you know that?" I said, holding up my hand in confusion. He pulled his bag off his shoulder and reached inside. He pulled out a familiar pair of running shoes and tossed them at my bare feet. It was the running shoes my mother had gave me.

"Not a lot of people leave shoes that had been dipped in lava on the top of the cable car station," Brendan said. "You're lucky I stole Steven's skarmory and got them before anybody else did."

"You used my skarmory?" Steven rubbed his temples. "Why did you use her?"

"You didn't write me a will before you died so I took while the time was ripe." Steven actually chuckled. "There ya go, a good laugh. I didn't really mean to steal your skarmory." He handed him a pokeball from his bag. "Mt. Chimney was blowing its' top and Mew had gone missing so I needed a way to make myself useful. I flew up there, saw the shoes, knew that Mew had it under control, and left with them. Sorry to abuse your death rights." He paused. "If that's what you call it."

"You did just fine." Steven looked to me. "Do you mind explaining?"

"Uh, yeah," I said quietly. Brendan rubbed his hands together.

"Oh, this should be good." He sat down beside Steven with his hands on his knees, leaning forward intently. I smiled. As much as he was going to make fun of me for this story, I was somewhat glad. Glad that he wasn't hurt, Steven was alive, and the three of us still happy. It made me a lot more grateful.

Hopefully it stays that way.

Steven Fainted!

Use Max Revive?

[YES] NO

Steven Was Revived!

Mew Fainted!

Use Another Max Revive?

[YES] NO

Mew Was Revived!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

Lives Left: 7

Part 4: Commence!


	32. Back To Life, Back On The Road!

Chapter 32

"Thank you, all of you, so much." Professor Cosmos adjusted his glasses so we couldn't see him tear up from behind them. "Without you, I would've been killed. Thank god all three of you came out alive!" I smiled nervously. The nurses at the pokemon center had seen Steven when he was dead, but when he came out just fine, they pretended not to notice. I guess they all thought they were going crazy.

"Anything for a fellow geologist," Steven said, shaking his hand. "I hope you are more careful next time you come across strangers." Cosmos nodded.

"Only the most careful I can be," he promised. "Please do the same."

"Agreed. Take care." Steven did that cool thing where he turns away and waves over his shoulder. I stepped up beside them, looking back to wave. Brendan was crunching away at some chips that he had bought at the pokemart, so he didn't even bother saying goodbye.

"So where we going?" he asked, pointing a chip at me. "You came here to save us, right? That means we have to start back at Mauville. Should we fly there?"

"Flying takes a lot of energy out of skarmory. If we come across the two Teams again, I want to be battle ready." He looked at me. "Speaking of that, don't you have that meteorite, Mew?" I pulled it out of my pocket. It shimmered in the sunlight. "You better keep a good grasp on that. It could come in handy."

"So why can't you just heal your skarmory at a pokemon center after we fly there?" Brendan asked. "They do a pretty good job, usually."

"Skarmory gets nervous around others." He eyed me. "I was more than surprised that she tried to attack you back in Odale. She normally runs away from danger. It's taken an immense amount of courage for her to stand the two of you, especially after we had her fly us all the way to Slateport from the abandoned ship."

"She sounds really shy," I observed.

"Very." Steven paused. "How was the travel to here from Mauville, Mew? You got here in record time, I'll admit. And by yourself, too."

"Oh, I wasn't alone."

"What? I thought you were." I shook my head.

"No. Red from the kanto region came and guided me." Steven stopped where he stood. Brendan swallowed the chip he had been munching on and stopped as well. Steven's face was in a forced calm. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Red," Steven clarified. "As in Red from Pallet Town. That's who escorted you here." I didn't like the tone of voice Steven was talking in. Eve jumped out of her pokeball, thinking a battle was beginning to start from the tension in the air. She shivered under Steven's glare.

"Y-yeah. That's him." Steven took a deep breath.

"Where is he now?"

"He disappeared before I found Brendan." I looked to my rival. He was holding his marshtomp under the arms. Apparently his pokemon had sensed the hostility as well. "After that, I didn't really get to see him again." Steven looked to Brendan.

"Did you see him pass by?" His voice was much sharper in his direction. Brendan's eyes flashed red.

"It's a little hard to see who's who when you're being chased by a horde of Team Aqua grunts, don't you think?" His voice was little deeper. Then, it returned to normal, along with his eyes. "I'm sure we'll see him again. If he came out here to see Mew, then it must mean that he's interested in her."

"I don't want to see him." He approached me. "Are you sure you don't know where he is now?"

"I'm sure. Why are you acting so weird?"

"Champions are meant to stay in their regions," he said quickly. "It's common law. He should be abiding by it, not breaking it."

"He's not a champion anymore," I explained. "He said he wasn't being beaten anyone, so he handed it off to his rival." Steven's eyes narrowed.

"He handed off his duties to a friend? What a coward." Steven turned away from me and began walking again. Brendan and I did a little jog to keep up. "It's champion law that you battle until you are beaten. You can't simply hand it off. He's breaking a multitude of rules." He began mumbling to himself. Slightly afraid of his rage, I slunk behind Brendan. He laughed.

"Don't be like that," he whispered, making sure Steven wasn't listening. "Champions are naturally competitive. There's a champion for each region and they can't exactly cross paths, so when they do, it's like a territorial instinct goes off in their brains. Makes them want to battle. The thing about battling between champions, however, if that whichever one wins has to be the champion of the losers' region. You can imagine how screwy it can get from there."

"Red didn't look to be doing any harm," I defended quietly. "He led me here of his own will. I don't think he meant to start any sort of battle."

"I'm sure he didn't. But if you think about it, he did wait until the Steven was gone to show up. He knows the rules. He just has his way around them." Brendan pushed me beside him. "Don't hide from your boyfriend behind me, it's weird."

We started trailing quietly between the stalks of tall grass. Even the slightest touch was send a wild pokemon hurdling into battle with me. Eve started out fighting them, but Sinbad jumped from his ball and chased her off. It was like he was really pumped to raise his level. He even found some way to sharpen the point on his stem. He was amped, taking out spindas left and right.

"What's up, Sinbad?" I asked after the last of our battles, picking him up.

"See," he mumbled. I tilted my head, confused.

"He's trying to evolve," Steven answered, gently tugging me to continue. "He's the last of your pokemon to not be evolved, so he's feeling left behind. After Brendan gave you that leaf stone, he feels like it's time to become a nuzleaf." I was glad that Steven had snapped out of his anger, but now Sinbad was in a bad mood. He jumped out of my hands and started initiating battles without my permission. He didn't even listen to the moves I told him to use, so the battles were long and drawn out. Steven was beginning to get impatient with it.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, returning the seedot. He went into his ball then came right back out, shivering in rage. He started shouting at me like a spoiled child before sitting down and looking away. If he had any arms, I'm sure they would be crossed. "Sinbad, stop it. This isn't the time to be like that. You'll evolve one way or another." He didn't reply.

"We're getting nowhere fast," Brendan whispered as if he wanted me to hear it but make it seem like he didn't. I glared at him. "What? Maybe I should battle him."

"Dot," Sinbad retorted, turning away again.

"Nope, not in the mood to deal with me either." Brendan had a hint of a smile on his face. "Your pokemon really wants to sit and train. It's kinda funny." This time, Steven tried to lean down to him and pick him up. Sinbad stood up and jabbed his stem at the champion. Steven drew away, an eyeball nearly poked.

"Arceus behold," Steven said. "Your pokemons' lost it." Brendan snapped his fingers.

"Hey, I have an idea." Then, without explaining, he dove off into the tall grass. We sat there for about two minutes, utterly confused, until the screech of a steel type pokemon roared in the background. Sinbad and I flinched, but Steven just looked towards the grass.

"He's an idiot," was what he said before the entire patch of grass next to him started rustling rapidly. He hopped out of the way and landed next to me right as the tall grass was cut in half by the sharp wings of a wild skarmory. On the back of it was none other than Brendan, hanging on for dear life by the horn on the bird pokemon's head. As soon as he saw us, he released it and went flying straight into me. I tried to jump out of the way, but he hit me dead-on and bowled me over into a pile of ash. When we finally came to a stop, Brendan stood up.

"Victory!" he declared, throwing his fist in the air. I finally found my way to a sitting position. The skarmory he had enraged was going crazy, chopping grass, churning up ash, and snapping at any pokemon that it saw in its sight. I was about to ask him why he had done something so stupid when the skarmory caught sight of Sinbad.

My pokemon couldn't have been any happier. He jumped to his feet and bellowed his strength, catching the attention of the skarmory. The bird type stepped up to Sinbad, ruffling its' feathers. I put my hands on my head, ready for the worst. Instead, when the wild pokemon put its nose up to sniff the seedot, it took a stab to the eye.

I covered my ears when the skarmory let out a roar of pain. It backed away, shaking its' head, but Sinbad held firm. Only when his foe had been hurt enough, he pulled himself from the beasts' eye. He stuck the landing and looked towards me, nodding in understanding.

"O-oh," I stammered. "Sinbad, razor leaf!" The pokemon did as told, aiming the leaves for the chinks in skarmory's armor. It hit every one of the targets head on and mercilessly. The pokemon roared, shook her head, then forced herself to open both eyes. The injured one was still usable but stained from pink tears. "Now! Pursuit!" Sinbad jumped forward and hit the bird right on the nose. That was all it took for the pokemon to drop, fainted.

Steven raised his eyebrows. "Wow, you got quite the skillful pokemon there." Just as he said it, Sinbad began glowing. He jumped up in the air, spinning and shouting in glee. Then, as soon as he landed, the light cleared, and his form altered. He grew arms, legs, and the stem on his head turned into a sharp leaf. He clapped his hands together and there he was: a strong nuzleaf. His eyepatch, too big for him, fell onto the dust. I reached down and grabbed it, but he wouldn't take it.

"What now?" I asked.

"Nuz…" Sinbad mumbled, pointing to the eyepatch then my bag.

"You don't want it anymore?" I asked. He just stared. His broken eye was forcefully closed. It looked even scarier without the cover over it. Is that was he was aiming for? To look more threatening? "You spent too much time as a seedot, huh?"

"Leaf," he replied, nodding.

"Then do you want the leaf-"

"Nuz!" He growled as I reached my hand in the bag. I held up my hands. Ok, he didn't want to evolve that far yet, I took it. He crossed his arms and started off down the path, picking up a blade of grass to put in his mouth. He started chewing it.

"Man, your pokemon turned into a complete badass all of a sudden." I looked to Brendan. "Sorry," he added jokingly, "but you know it's true."

"Evolution changes pokemon sometimes," Steven said. "Let's follow Sinbad. He seems to know the way." He waited for me to step up to him, but left without to see if Brendan was following. He was now, keeping up the rear. He called out his shroomish, who he held and began to talk to intently.

"You still listening to me when I say you should keep an eye on Brendan?" Steven whispered. I blinked at him.

"You still don't trust him? Even after the Christmas and everything?" Steven put a finger to my lips, a signal to keep my voice down. I didn't see the big problem, Brendan was quite a ways behind. Yet I still lowered my voice. "Why don't you trust him?"

"It's a theory, but I'm not quite sure about it yet." He tucked his hands in his pockets. "You need to make sure you don't put too much trust in him. He's distant, odd. There's something about him I don't like."

"Are you sure it's not jealousy?" I whispered. He pressed his forehead against mine and leaned into me.

"Why would I be jealous of him?" he asked softly. "I have everything I want right now." Then he landed a smooth kiss on my lips. My head started spinning and I thought my feet would eventually trip on something, but I managed to kiss back without completely losing my mind. He leaned away. "There, that settle it enough?"

"Y-y-yeah," I whispered, crossing my arms and tucking my chin into my chest.

"You don't need to be shy," he said. "Like you said, it's only kissing." A smile spread onto my lips. I opened my mouth, ready to reply, but Brendan let out a holler. I stopped and Steven flinched when my rival sped between the two of us on a mach bike, one of the two choices to pick from in the Mauville bike shop. "How on Earth did he get that?"

"I have my ways!" Brendan called. He tossed a different bike, this one larger than his current one, back at us. I caught it before it hit the ground. An acro bike: another bike from Mauville. This one had been specially made for two people, however. "Hurry up and get on, we're losing Sinbad!"

I set the back upright right when Steven came back to me. He instinctively got on the front seat.

"Hey," I protested. He looked back at me, smiling.

"Trust me, the speed we'll be going will make you glad you're not steering." He grabbed the seat behind him and pulled it forward. I hopped on and had barely put my feet on the petals when the tires to the bike started burning out on the dirt. We lurched forward so quickly that I grabbed onto Steven for dear life. He laughed and quickly repositioned my hands around his waist before taking off again. I peddled for a short while, gave up, then lifted my legs and let Steven take the wheel. The wind flew through my hair as we traveled, exhilarating me.

I buried my face in Steven's back. He smelt like strawberries still. It was good to be back to normal.

Or whatever someone like me considered normal.

What?

Sinbad is evolving!

Congratulations! Sinbad evolved into Nuzleaf!

Saving game...

Game saved!


	33. I Get Caught In An Pokeball!

Chapter 33

Steven was amazing at peddling the acro bike. I knew it was meant to go a whole lot slower, but he kept pace with Brendan flawlessly. There were times I tried to help him keep up, but he just looked back at me and smiled with that adorable look on his face. I ended up cuddling him closer. He was just so charming and sweet, why would I focus on working when I could focus on hugging him?

We had been traveling across the ashy fields that led away from Fallarbor town when the grass turned green, the sky cleared, and the ash around us dissipated. Brendan pulled out in front of Steven, bringing all of us to a halt. The champion spun the bike around, skidding to a stop in front of my rival. Though he had been only inches away from a collision, Brendan managed to keep his eyes on us without flinching. He looked behind him.

Up ahead, Sinbad was leaning against the rock formation, teeth still working at the blade of grass he had plucked. He saw us and stood, eye unblinking. I began to approach him, but he growled and hopped backwards. He started yelling inaudibly at me. There was a long moment I wasn't sure what to do but stand there. Sinbad pat both sides of his chest before pointing to me. I did the same and found that he was gesturing right where the blue and red orbs were located.

"I see," Steven said. "Now that Sinbad has evolved, he wants you to prove your worth." He paused, saw the look of confusion on my face, and smiled. "He wants to battle you." When I reached for my pokeballs, Sinbad growled again. His eye was determined, his stance wide in readiness.

"How do you expect me to battle without pokemon?" I asked him.

"I thought you kinda were a pokemon," Brendan chuckled. Sinbad hollered in agreeance. The three of us went quiet. Then Brendan laughed. "So wait, wait. Mew is part pokemon, so Sinbad wants to have a pokemon battle with her. Like pokemon against pokemon, no trainer. Is that right, Sinbad?"

"Nuz," the grass pokemon purred. Steven raised his eyebrows.

"Looks like that's what he wants." I faced him.

"I can't battle," I said nervously. "I don't know any moves."

"You're a clone of mew," Brendan pointed out. "And according to legend, mew can learn any pokemon move. You literally know them all." He was halfway through his sentence when Sinbad charged and hit me with a sharp pursuit. Steven was smart enough to dodge it, but I took it right to the base of my spine, a critical hit. I went flying forward, barrel rolling over the grass and kicking up dirt in my wake.

"Holy god pokemon!" I swore as soon as I quit rolling. "That hurt like… sweet Arceus!" I sat up and put my hands on my back. There was no scar, but I was sure it was going to bruise. "That shouldn't have hurt that bad, why did it?"

"Mew is a psychic type," Steven explained. "Pursuit is a dark type move. Super effective hits hurt twice as much as others." Brendan pulled out his pokedex.

"'Ey, look. I can add Mew's information from here by just pointing it at you." He paused. "Wow, you got some gnarly sweet stats for half human." Sinbad darted past the two of them and threw another pursuit at me again. I held up my arm right when we made contact. A shining barrier of energy pulsed from me, stopping the attack and knocking my pokemon backwards. He landed like a pro and skid back on his heels, shivering from exhilaration. "Nice protect, Mew. But you can't be all defense when it comes to battles."

"I don't want to battle!" I looked around. Luckily for me, there was no one in sight. I turned towards Sinbad. "Cut it out. I don't want to get hurt. Or hurt you for that matter." Sinbad yelled at me in protest. "Fine! Don't say I didn't warn you!" I stood up and readied my stance. Sinbad narrowed his eye at me, darting back and forth from foot to foot.

"Try a fire type move," Steven said. I was too intent on keeping my glare on my pokemon that I didn't look towards him. "We'll start easy. Try ember." Right when he said it, Sinbad darted towards me. I inhaled and closed my eyes, willing my stomach to fill up with heat. When it did, I let loose a breath of fire. Sinbad made the briefest contact with my arm before being consumed by flames. He darted away, rolling on the grass to extinguish the flames that had once consumed him.

"That wasn't ember!" Brendan sounded so excited that he jumped off his bike and let it fall to the ground. "That was a full-blown flame charge! It's like you've leveled up!" I ignored him. Flame charge had damaged Sinbad enough to where he needed to get down on a knee and pant. Instinct kicked in. I darted across the grass and hit Sinbad with my foot straight in the jaw. It hit, not perfectly, but enough to damage him. He was thrown backwards, too tired to defend himself. "Double kick! It hit three times!"

"One more move," Steven said. "Mew, use quick attack!" It felt weird to be commanded to attack by him, but I did it anyway. I let power flood to my legs and took off. It a weak attack based on speed and to attack before your opponent could make a move, but it seemed to do the trick. A swift punch to the cheek and Sinbad collapsed. He didn't try to get back up. All he did was lift his head, nod at me weakly and then faint.

"You won," Brendan said. "And you hardly took any damage. Wow, you're pretty tough, Mew." I retrieved Sinbad.

"Thanks." I shook my shoulders. "That dark type move really hurt. I can't believe it."

"You'll have to be more careful. Like Mewtwo said, pokemon feared your power before you became a trainer. There's a good chance they know you're a pokemon, too and can seek out weaknesses. It sounds like you're prone to dark and ghost moves for now. What's her stats look like?" he asked Brendan.

"Believe it or not, Sinad's moves did almost nothing to her." He clicked a few buttons on his pokedex. "It says you're level 101, which makes no sense. Your stats are in the thousands, and you know so many moves that my pokedex just offers a link to every move it knows." He put it away and pulled out an empty pokeball. "Can I try something?" The devilish look on his face explained what he was about to do.

"No, no, no, no!" I yelled, but he had already thrown it. The pokeball hit me, started levitating, then sucked me inside. Even though Brendan had somewhat of an idea that something like that could happen, he was genuinely surprised. Steven ran up to the pokeball, intending to release me, but I broke out right before he touched it. I broke out in such rage that the ball popped open and broke in half at the hinge. The two halves flew in both directions, one impaling itself in the side of the rock formation, the other blasting off like team rocket towards the south. I turned to Brendan and bared my fangs. "I swear to Arceus is you ever, _ever_ do that again, I will kill you!" He smiled nervously.

"Y-yeah. Sorry about that." His voice cracked. Now he was beginning to realize the potential of my powers. Steven pat me on the back.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." I rolled my shoulders. "It's pretty cramped in there. I guess only half of me could fit, if you think about it…" He smiled.

"Of course. I can't say I haven't wondered that myself."

About an hour down the road and the three of us came across the desert that Red had helped me cross. The storm was just as strong as before and we found ourselves stopping before the grass turned even the slightest bit sandy. It was there that I realized the other two did not have go-go goggles, and we abruptly had to turn back before the wind blinded us.

"We'll have to take fiery path," Steven said as soon as the sound of the raging storm was far enough behind us. "It's not that far away." He stepped back and nodded his head to the west. There was a trail and some trainers that way. I grabbed Plum's ball and let him out. He appeared, blinking his eyes in question.

"I'll need you to battle. I fainted Sinbad." He nodded, as if he had heard the whole thing from his ball. "Do you feel like double battling with Eve? She hasn't seen any action much either." Right as I finished, Eve escaped from her ball, balanced on one leg, and started kicking the air.

"Kirlia," Plum agreed quietly. Eve did a flawless backflip in agreement. We battled three trainers on our way up the path. Their pokemon didn't last long with Plum and Eve's teamwork. At the top, when I finished the last of a hikers' pokemon and he disappeared down the path to heal his pokemon, I took a second to look upwards at Mt. Chimney.

The smoke had subsided to a light grey string and the ground no longer rumbled, but the cable car station was still closed. I figured it would take a while of magma cooling and some slight renovations before it was open again. The meteorite I had collected from Maxie's strange machine hummed in my pocket warmly. It had been doing so for such a long while that I was accustomed to it. I put my hand on it. What could those goons want with something like this?

"You haven't taken on flannery yet, have you?" Steven was at my side.

"Flannery?" I asked. He smiled slightly.

"I figured you hadn't." He looked over his shoulder. Brendan was just making his way up the steps. He looked pretty exhausted by the climb. "We need to stop by Lavaridge town. There's no direct path with the cable car station closed, so we have to do a bit of a climb." Brendan's face turned dismayed.

"Are you serious? Haven't we traveled enough today?" Steven looked towards the sky. It was only slightly past noon. When he looked back to Brendan, my rival had noticed just the same. He sighed. "Ok, we can keep going. But after she takes on the gym, we should get back on this trail." He pointed to the cave entrance up ahead. "It's the only safe way back to Mauville without getting skinned in the sandstorm."

"Understood." Steven started off towards the far side of the ledge we stood on. The two of us followed. When we reached the edge of the road, he stood to the side. I squinted my eyes and, sure enough, over a rocky outcropping was the city I had landed in after plugging the volcano. It wasn't too far, but climbing over butte after butte would be painful. No wonder they didn't let you try to get through parts like these in the games.

"The first step in a journey is always the hardest," Steven said, kneeling down to find the first hole in the rock ledge. Right before he found what he was looking for, Brendan was already three steps down. "Be careful. We don't need any broken bones." Brendan turned back on his heel, ready to gloat, but he suddenly lost his balance. He started falling backwards, hands grasping at the air. Steven was quick, he slid down the side of the ledge and grabbed onto my rival, steadying him.

I put a hand over my heart. It was racing. The ledge was as tall as it was covered in jagged rocks. Steven released Brendan to glare. The clumsy trainer held up his hands and smiled nervously.

"S-sorry."

"As you should be." Steven let his body relax. "You may not be the greatest man I've come to know, but I'd hate to see what this path could do to you." Brendan paused.

"Are you saying you consider me a bro?" His face lit up when Steven just stood there. "Awe, you love me, don't you? You're such a softie!" He took the champion under his arm and started giving him a noogie. "Tough little guy has a big heart!" Steven took the abuse for a while before freeing himself.

"Don't do that again."

"Alright, Steve-o." The champion sighed. I stepped down to them.

"What's the easiest way across here?" I asked.

"Easy is a strong word," Steven said. "We need to find the best way. I say just climb what is needed and walk the rest."

"It's going to be a long afternoon," Brendan complained.

"Better than a life in a hospital bed." Steven started down the cliff again. I followed with Brendan taking up the rear. He was taking his advice heavily. I pulled ahead of him and took the same steps that Steven did, making sure the path was highlighted enough for him to follow closely. When he stumbled, even slightly, his hand automatically went to my shoulder. I was glad he was being safe.

But at the same time, it was hard not to blush.

Trainer Brendan Used A Pokeball!

Argh, Almost Had It! (Not Really)

Mew Escaped!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	34. The Hot Springs Have Some Tough Trainers

Chapter 34

By the time we reached Lavaridge town, all three of us were covered in dirt, scratches and bruises. Regardless that he was the first one to fall, Brendan was the least covered in the end. Steven came in second and I came dead first, covered from head to toe in wounds. I was so exhausted that when we finally made it over the final ledge to the city, I fell onto the dirt. Eve and Plum, both refusing to return to their pokeballs for the experience, dropped beside me. Their eyes turned into swirls, so close to fainting. Now they let me return them.

Brendan stepped up to me and dropped to his knees. Though he wasn't quite as tired, he was breathing heavy. He hooked his arms under mine and hoisted me to my feet. For a while, all I could was dangle there, panting.

"Hey, c'mon. We can go to sleep in a bit." His words encouraged me. I managed to stand upright, stumble a little, then continue forward. Steven pulled up beside me and held my hand, running his thumb over the back of my palm. I leaned into him, nearly stumbling again, and continue. Brendan pulled up beside Steven and grabbed his hand, mocking the two of us jokingly. Steven threw his hand away. "Aw, c'mon. You love me."

"Not like that," Steven said.  
>"Oh, so you do admit you love me."<p>

"I see you as annoying younger brother. Someone I'm stuck with for the rest of my life and forced to show the smallest bit of care for." Brendan laughed.

"Love ya, too bro!" We reached the pokemon center. It was probably around eight o'clock so the sun was just disappearing behind the volcano. Right before the boys went right inside, I looked up at it. It was shaded enough to tell if there was any lava still pouring down the sides, and luckily for me, there was none left. There was quite a few new rock formations that made it hard for hikers that didn't have acro bikes to come down to the city, but it seemed pretty abandoned. It seemed like common sense to not travel up it for the time being.

Half-hidden behind the volcano was the moon, so clear I could make out the bigger craters. The stars were still as bright as when I had first arrived in Hoenn. It was nice to be able to see such a gorgeous sky all the time. Saffron City had muffled these sights with light pollution. Hoenn was truly a wonderful place.

"Are you coming?" Steven and Brendan were inside, looking back at me, smiles on their faces. Steven flipped his hair to the right. "The night is still young, why don't we jump in the hot springs?"

As much as I wanted to go to bed, sitting in the warm water of the hot springs sounded more soothing than a cold bed. The three of us approached the front counter, where Steven and Brendan bought the swimsuits for us to use and keep. Steven got black swim trunks, but Brendan went with the flower print, neon pink trunks that looked to be made for people of his exact personality.

"I'm sorry, we don't have much of a selection of women's swimsuits," Nurse Joy apologized, placing a bikini on the counter. It was imprinted with a gem-like color in different shades of purple like amethysts. The edges were laced with slightly lighter purple fabric, giving it a girlier appearance. "This is the only one we have for you in your size."

"That's great," Steven said, placing the money down needed to buy it. I wanted to protest, but I was already blushing too much. If any words came from my mouth, they would be stuttered. Brendan nudged me with his elbow.

"Hey, that'll look cute on ya." Steven looked at him to glare. My rival held up his hands to show he was laying off. Then, as soon as he received his receipt, he turned and handed me the swimwear. I stood there, eyes focused on it. There wasn't much I could think of saying.

"No," I managed, holding it out to him. Suddenly, that half sad, half cute look on his face was back. He looked right into my eyes and started speaking sweetly.

"You won't even do it for me?" I started blushing even redder. My face was on fire. I tried speaking, but his look intensified. I held the swimsuit close to me and walked right past him into the dressing rooms where I began to change. I heard Brendan laugh loudly from behind me.

"You sure know how to use that power for good," he said. Then the two of them disappeared into the dressing rooms on the other side of the pokecenter that were designated to the men. I grabbed a towel from the rack inside the room when I had finished dressing and stepped out into the open. They were gone, so I darted past the rooms and out into the hot springs. I would've jumped right in after discarding my towel on the ground if it wasn't for the elderly ladies. They were the ones that had seen me fall from the sky and didn't question a thing. Were they going to remain that way?

"Hey, young one," the one on the right greeted. "I remember you. You here to fall from the sky again?" She laughed. It was meant in a friendly manner, but I still blushed. "Don't be embarrassed, come talk to us."  
>"Oh, ok." My feet tingled when first exposed to the hot water, but it was easily adjustable. When I was halfway submerged, the water started soothing my muscles. It was so tempting to just drop and let myself float in the water that I had to grab the side of the pool to avoid doing it. As soon as I reached the center, I was submerged up to the neck. I dipped my lips under and exhaled through my nose. The feeling was amazing. This was my new happy place.<p>

"Ah, I see you're not normal after all." The other old lady smiled at me. "Not many people can stand directly over the vent without being burned. I simply spun to look at her. It wasn't nearly hot enough to burn me. Was she serious? "What's your name, young one?" I looked to my right, thinking.

Then, "Mew." The grannies shared glances, smiles on their faces. "What?"

"It's not a very common name. And a peculiar one, too. Can I ask why your mother named you so?" I paused. "You can tell me anything dear. We saw you, covered in lava, fall from the sky and land in this pool. We thought you were dead, but you were more worried about getting clothes than the current situation. You are no normal girl, Mew. And I think you know that."

I looked towards the entrance to the pokemon center. Brendan and Steven had not come out yet, so I turned to the ladies and began explaining. I started with the pokemon attacks as a child and ended with the falling into the the hot springs. The story made the ladies look at each other and nod at some points, as if they had expected just as such. They laughed at other parts, and finally submerged themselves into the water when I had finished at the point where I got caught in the lava and ended up in the hot springs the first time.

"You sound like quite the character, Mew." It was just when she said that I was splashed by a spray of water that was briefly announced beforehand with a familiar shout. As soon as Brendan surfaced from the water, pounding on his chest like a gorilla. He retreated to the side of the pool where I was and hugged me from behind.

"Caught me a keeper," he said in a pirate voice. I was so embarrassed about being hugged when he had no shirt on and I was in a rather exposing outfit of my own, I dove under the water and dove towards the center. Sure enough, there was a vent in the bottom of the pool. It was small, but the heat coming from it was noticeable. Brendan stepped towards me, ready to grab, but felt the hot vent I was swimming near and backed away. I surfaced. "You win this round."

"Brendan, stop." Steven emerged from the pokemon center. Oh, no. He was shirtless, too. And in his cute black swim trunks, too. I turned away and covered my chest with my arms. I tried not to tremble from under his stare, which I felt on my back, but it consumed me. So I submerged myself deeper in the water. I tried to stop my face from turning red, but it was too late. I felt a warm hand brush my back. "Come here, it's too hot for me over there."

I didn't turn to him, just slowly backed away. I let Steven take me into his arms and lift me gently up off the ground. He rested his chin on my shoulder, nuzzling me closer to him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and started spinning me around slowly. It was so relaxing that I let him hold me. I looked towards his face and found it barely an inch from mine. His emerald eyes were soft. My heart started throbbing.

"Why'd you run?" he asked silent enough so only I could hear. My neck was getting tired so I pressed my forehead against his. It was a small gesture, but Steven smiled cutely at it.

"The-the swimsuit is…" I couldn't look away from his eyes, so I just went quiet.

"It looks great, Mew." His words were soft and his eyes delicate. "You're cute." Then he kissed the tip of my nose. I forced myself not to freak out and just let him do it. It was strangely a lot better to let him do it. It was so easy. I even found the courage to lean forward and do the same. It was a little more awkward on my end, but still enough to make him blush.

"You guys are gross," Brendan said, "but oddly cute."

"Oh, is that your honey?" The first old lady waltzed into the water and up to Steven. "The champion, too. You're a lucky one." Steven glanced at me, then made eye contact with the old woman. "You don't need to be confused. Muriel and I are Draconids." His eyes widened slightly. "No need for any formalities. We saw Mew fall from the volcano, covered in lava, and she had no real choice but to explain it to us. Explain everything to us, to be correct."

"I see." Steven held out his hand. "I'm Steven. You've met Mew and her idiot rival Brendan." My rival emerged from under the water, his face cherry red. He started panting and breathing heavily.

"I tried getting close to the vent without burning. It's really hot down there. I think I got pretty close." He touched his cheek. "Is it bad I can't feel my face?" I slapped my hand against my forehead. Steven's face turned annoyed for about two seconds before he switched back to the elderly ladies.

"You've heard of us, I'm sure." They both bowed their heads in unison.

"I'm Meredith. My sister is Muriel. Us Draconids try to stay in the loop. Tell me, what are you three doing in town?"

"Mew wants to receive her gym badge." The two old ladies exchanged glances. "In other words, we are trying to make our travels across the region look a bit more normal." There was a pause. "I can say it's not quite coming across that way."

"It's rather hard to keep the news focused off Mew," Muriel said. "If you'd like, we would like to borrow her. Keep her hidden until the time is ripe." She paused. "Train her, in other words."

"I have heard of your kind," Steven said. "But I can assure you, she is safe with me." Now I wasn't sure what Draconids were and why they wanted to train me, but there was an uneasy calm to the air after he said that. "Trust me, she is well guarded," he added, easing the blow. Brendan had emerged from the water a short while before they had spoken. Now his eyes were red and his face set on the two elderly women.

"Steven Stone," Meredith spoke, her voice like thunder. "I cannot say I trust you and your friend with someone as powerful and… unique as Mew. Us Draconids are much more prepared for someone of her caliber. She would be in much better hands with us." Brendan stepped up beside Steven, whispering in his ear. The champion's expression did not change as he spoke. Then, he nodded towards the rival in understanding.

"Brendan and I are very capable of taking care of her ourselves. We have done well so far."

"She has seven lives left," Meredith interrupted. "It is believed she started with ten. I wouldn't call that the best way of 'taking care of her.'" Her words were beginning to turn dark, ominous. Brendan stepped away from Steven and took ahold of me by the shoulder. Steven's eyes started shining green.

"If you want her that badly, we can battle here and now and settle it." Steven's words were threatening, like she somehow might get hurt in the process. Muriel and Meredith glowered.

"Fine, then, Champion Steven Stone. Keep her with you. But if you mess up, even a little, the Draconids will intervene. You will be overrun, and Mew will join us. For the time being, i'd keep her under an umbrella. Make her scarce. She is important to this world. Her life is much more valuable than yours." He didn't flinch at the insult. I knew they were referring about me giving him one of my lives, but it didn't feel nice to know they were using it against him. "Watch over her, or we will."

Then both the ladies stepped up out of the water and walked into the pokemon center. They left behind a trail of water and two stone glares that made my spine tingle. I tried to follow them, but Brendan held me in place.

"We get the badge tomorrow, then we leave," he said firmly without taking his eyes off the door to the pokecenter. "We don't want to be in the same region as them, let alone the same town."

"What are they?" I asked.

"Bad news," Steven replied. "I'll explain as soon as we're out of public." Brendan chuckled, his eyes back to ocean blue.

"I knew you wouldn't want to get out of the springs, even if something like this came up." He released me and nudged me towards the champion. Though his shoulders were stiff with rage, he took me into his arms. "For now, it's just the three of us." He hugged me. Under his breath so Brendan couldn't hear me, he whispered, "Don't ever leave, ok?"

"I promise," I vowed even quieter. Then I kissed his ear. Whoever they were, if they made Steven scared, they must be pretty powerful people.

And that scared me twice as much.

Draconids Muriel And Meredith Appeared!

Steven Used Mean Look!

The Dracoids Fled!

The Springs Soothe Brendan, Mew, And Steven.

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	35. Hoenn Champion Shipping Chapter!

Chapter 35

Even though the hot springs relaxed me and there were no sight of the Draconids, I couldn't sleep. Eve and Plum were nestled under each of my arms, warm as can be. Sinbad chose to sleep against the door, arm propped on a knee. Even though he was asleep, his mouth still had the blade of grass in it, muscles working without thought to chew on it. The moon outside was still full and shining brightly. Carefully sitting up without disturbing my pokemon was a challenge, but I managed to do so without waking them.

I put on my slippers and walked up to the window. There was something about the moon that soothed me. It was so beautiful and bright, I found myself staring at it for a while before I could pry myself away. Whatever it was, it seemed to fill me with an amazing amount of power. Now there was no way I could fall asleep.

"Leaf." I turned towards the door. My pokemon had his eyes set on the knob, urging me to approach it. Was someone there? It was too dark to see if there was any shadow coming through under the crack of the door. The room was quiet yet my heart thudded against my chest so loudly. Nuzleaf eyed me and pointed his chin at the door again. "Leaf…"

I nodded at him and approached the door. A decade must've passed while I was standing there, because Sinbad let out a noise that sounded like a fairly annoyed grunt. I glared at him before throwing the door inwards. He jumped out of the way to avoid being slammed against the wall and Steven, who had been on the other side, held up in hands in sudden defence.

He paused when he saw the look of confusion on my face. "Oh, um, I, um..." His expression returned to the calm and collected it was before. His eyes had a bit of concern in their shine. "I couldn't sleep." I narrowed my eyes.

"How long have you been standing there?" He paused. His attempt to keep his cool was slowly fading. "Have you gone to sleep at all?"

"That doesn't matter," he said quickly. "I need to talk to you about the Draconids while I'm here." I had a feeling that wasn't the sole reason he had come here in the middle of the night, but regardless, he came inside and took a seat at the tiny desk the pokecenter provided. Eve and Plum were so deep in their slumber that mere talking wouldn't wake them. Sinbad returned to his spot by the door once it was shut, biting at the blade of grass with his eyes closed. I sat on the bed.

"What is there to talk about?" I asked. It wasn't showing too much, but I was nervous. I'd never expect to have a boy in my room in the middle of the night. Not anytime soon, at the least. Brendan had come up in my room when I first came to Hoenn, but I had been so overwhelmed by meeting somebody that it didn't come across as weird. Here, with my boyfriend, it was awkward. Even more so now that I knew he hadn't the courage to even knock, just stand out there until Sinbad pointed him out.

"The Draconids are a primitive group of people," Steven started. "Legend says that they were here at the beginning of time, when Kyogre and Groudon first created the land and the sea. Rumor has it that they were the ones who brought their fighting to rest after watching them battle for eons." He paused. "Their descendants are born into this world with the ability to communicate with dragon pokemon like humans. Over the years, however, their numbers have dwindled. Their powers are fainter and the people fewer. That's why I was surprised to meet two of them here in Lavaridge."

"What do they want with me?" I asked.

"The Draconids are obsessed with power. They fight to control anything that can become a hazard to the human race. They've seen you in the news and heard of your adventure so far. It's easy to say they want to make sure you don't hurt anyone else, including yourself. If they were to take you into their clan, there'd be no doubt you'd be trained to the bone. They are impossibly rough on their apprentices. There's no doubt you would break under the pressure. I couldn't let you go through that." I didn't say anything. "I must give it to them, however. They probably know more of why you're here than we do. There's a good chance they won't want to share unless you join their ranks, however."

"I'm not going to join their ranks," I said quickly. Steven narrowed his eyes at me.

"Are you sure about that?" he said. "You can become a legend. You'd be so powerful under them. You wouldn't even need pokemon to battle."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be able to see you guys," I said, silencing him. His emerald eyes met mine in sudden surprise. "Did you really think I would leave everyone for power and all that stuff? That's not who I am. I don't need that to be happy."

"Aren't you afraid?" he asked.

"Afraid of what?"

"Yourself," he said quietly. "You have the power of Kyogre and Groudon in your chest. Aren't you afraid that you'd hurt somebody, even yourself, at some point in time? Your emotions can sometimes set you off in a primal rage. You aren't afraid of that?" Now that he said it, it did make more sense to join the Draconids. He really thought this through.

"There's a whole world to be afraid of," I replied. "I'm not exactly the favorite trainer pokemon want to be around and I'm already this far away from home, aren't I?" I looked down at my hands, which I had folded in my lap. "I guess when I'm already going against so many of my fears, just adding a few more on don't seem so much like a big deal anymore. I just don't want to end up in my room playing video games again."

"You're brave," Steven complimented. I smiled at him. "You know, I've never met someone like you before."

"I would hope you'd never met a half-pokemon half-human experiment," I joked, hiding my red face in the darkness. He rolled his eyes.

"Not like that. I mean a girl who could go from being so afraid to being so brave. To go out against the world that shunned you and prove them all wrong. To make friends like you've done it your whole life. To be able to leave that room behind and never go back." I hugged myself. Had I really changed that much? "And I can tell you think I'm lying, but I'm not. You are amazing, Mew."

"I'm not, really." I turned away. "I didn't have a choice at the time. Professor Birch needed me to save him. Brendan had taken me against my will to help him. It wasn't my own doing."

"You say that, but I know you have been waiting all your life for an opportunity like that to happen." He stood up. "Look at you, Mew. You're halfway across the region and haven't wanted to turn back once. You don't even need to call your parents. You just want to keep going forward." He leaned down and lifted my chin to meet my eyes. His tender gaze sent me shivering. "Even when Brendan and I were kidnapped, you kept going forward. You didn't give up."

"I can't give up," I whispered, trying to lean away from his grasp. He just leaned forward more.

"Why can't you give up, Mew?" he asked. "What keeps you from turning back? What keeps you going?" I leaned too far back. When he reached to touch my chin, I let my foot slip off the floor and knock him off his feet. He fell forward and onto me, accidentally pinning me to the comforter. Luckily we didn't wake Plum and Eve, who just scoot out of our way in their slumber and curled up next to each other at the foot of the bed. I was so stunned that I froze, locked in Steven's wide-eyed stare. His face turned so red that looked like a severe sunburn. His face was scrunched up in unconcealed embarrassment. Slowly, he began to get his cool back.

"Don't," I said quickly. He stopped halfway through his expression change to look at me oddly. "Don't pretend to be all cool all the time."

"What… what do you mean?"

"I like seeing this side of you, too," I explained quietly. "You always make yourself look so calm and collected, but I know that's not everything you are. You're shy, you're clumsy, and you're cute. Why can't you show those sides of yourself, too?" His expression softened.

"I thought... " He paused. "I didn't think you'd like me if I wasn't cool all the time."

"Why do you think I keep going?" I asked. "Do you think it's because I like putting myself out in front of pokemon that want to kill me? Do you think it's because I want to find out I'm some sort of Team Rocket failed experiment? Well, it's not." He flinched slightly when he saw tears gathering in my eyes.

"St-stop. Don't cry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's because I want to be able to be with you." He stopped. Tears started running down the sides of my face. "I never had a reason to leave that room, so I never did. I had no one to travel with, no one to help me, no one at all. Then you came along and I actually had a reason to live."

For a while, that was all we did. Lie there and stare at each other. I let the tears flow as much as they pleased. I sniffled, the back of my throat stinging. Steven watched for only a short while before pulling up his sleeve and wiping them away.

"Stop, please." His red face was unmasked. "You have such a wonderful smile. Why are you crying?" I sniffled in reply, unable to form the words to speak. Seeing this, he slipped his arms under me and rolled me onto my side. From there, he wriggled us until we were lying on the bed properly, heads on the same pillow, noses only a few inches apart. "Don't be upset. Please. I hate seeing you sad." He wiped more of my tears away. We paused again. Then, "Mew, if it's what you really want, I'll show you every side of me. I'll tell you everything about me. I'll do anything just to make you smile again."

"Did…" I started, "Did I leave that room for nothing?"

"No," he answered quickly. "Trust me, you didn't come all this way for nothing." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against mine. "I had no idea you were struggling so hard to be with me." He smiled softly, face still red. "I'm right here, Mew. I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you again, ok? I don't care how many challengers line up. I'm not leaving your side."

I reached forward and wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back right away, running his fingers through my hair. He wrapped his legs around mine and nestled closer. I shivered and, almost right away, he took the blankets and wrapped us up in them.

"I'm so happy," I whispered.

"I'm just as happy," he whispered back. There was a pause. "Can I call you my sweetheart?"

"Only if I can call you the same." He laughed quietly.

"I wouldn't dream of saying no to that." He pulled away so we could meet eyes. His gaze was soft and different, like he was purposely trying to be a little more awkward. I blinked at him, smiling softly. "Do you think we could go for a date sometime? We haven't really had the time yet."

"Let's make it a date right now," I replied. He blushed even harder. Then, acting on impulse, he leaned forward and kissed me. It was sloppy, but I fixed it on the rebound. He trembled under my grip, but I steadied him. His warm lips were so soft and coaxing against mine. When he pulled away, his nerves wracked to their limit, I kissed him again. He laughed, muffled by the kiss, and returned it. We exchanged kisses for so long that I didn't even notice how tired I was getting. I fell asleep in his arms and him likewise in mine. Right before I fell unconscious, I buried my face in his chest.

"Thank you," I whispered, unsure if he was asleep or not. "Thank you, Steven." I fell asleep before he could think to reply.

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…


	36. I Punch A Leader And Fight For Steven!

Chapter 36

"Any particular reason you were both in the same room last night?" Steven and I paused mid bite in our morning meal. The air was so heavy that we had to set down our food and look the other way to think of how to reply. "I know you guys are dating and all, but you know, let a brother know when you're camping out." He took a big gulp of his moomoo milk. "I thought Steven had been kidnapped." He finished that cup and started on another of the other three he had beside him.

"You have an obsession with that stuff," I said. Still holding his glass, he pointed at me.

"Don't try and take the blame off you. I've still got a ton of mocking I've got to do for the both of you." He leaned forward. "The third wheel is usually the awkward, but I'm going to be the one that makes things awkward just to avoid being left out." Steven pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. "Oh, yes, it's just the beginning."

"Hey, you." I looked up from my breakfast platter. A girl with fiery red hair tied up into a ponytail was standing right beside our table. She had a hand on a hip and the other working at freeing the tighter strands of hair from it's holster, giving the hair on the back of her head a peacock tail flare. I turned to meet her eyes and she flicked my nose.

"Ow! What the hell?!" I stood up. The girl flinched, which was weird because she was a few inches taller and had a bit more meat on her bones, but nonetheless, I still faced her. "Who are you?"

"I'm- I'm the gym leader of this town!" She stomped her foot and balled her fists at her thighs. "I'm here to challenge you! Right here, right now!" Um, what? A battle, in the middle of a pokemon center? And wasn't it the trainers duty to challenge the gym leader in their own gym? I was so confused, I held out my hand, palm to the sky, and tilted my head at her. I was no psychologist, but the internal struggle on her face was obvious. "You heard me! Battle!"

"My pokemon are not fully healed," I said in a low voice. The entire pokecenter was looking at us now. Steven laid back in his chair, observing us. Brendan was laughing quietly and drinking milk at the same time. "I can't battle you right now. I'm in the middle of eating breakfast." The struggle on Flannery's face was intensifying. She started to sweat. "Are you ok?"

I didn't expect it and I certainly didn't see it coming, but she grabbed my pecha berry bagel, almost invisible under the mass amount of moomoo cream cheese. Then she hit me square in the face with it, smearing it all over my eyes and mouth.

The whole center broke into gasps. I wiped off my face and balled my fist so hard I left crescent marks from my nails. Steven and Brendan jumped to their feet, but it was too late, I socked the gym leader right in the left eye. She flew backwards, into some tables and chairs, and right into the wall. I wiped the cream cheese off my face and stepped forward. I was ready to end her right then and there, but Brendan grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder like a damsel in distress. Then he walked out of eyesight with me pounding his back with his fists.

"Don't mind her!" he told everyone over his shoulder. "She doesn't like to think on her own, especially with cream cheese all across her face!" He set me down as soon as we were in his room. I thought I was going to be yelled at, but as soon as he closed the door, he dropped to the floor and started laughing. He was laughing so hard that the crowd outside went silent. He was so ecstatic about the whole thing that he began to wheeze from laughter. He rolled on the floor and forced himself to take three deep breaths. He stood, slowly and calmly, before meeting my eyes. That's when he caught sight of my creamed face and broke out laughing again.

I took a deep breath. However angry I was, I couldn't keep a straight face when it came to Brendan laughing. I sat on the bed and tested my fingers. They were all working fine despite having punched a gym leader halfway across the room. It's a good thing I didn't go all primal-rage on her. That would've been bad. I walked to the bathroom and washed off my face. It was then that a knock came at the door and Steven entered. His face was more than apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Mew."

"What are you sorry about?" I asked. "I probably gave her brain trauma from that punch. I think a little cream cheese to the face can be fixed." He chuckled. Him. He chuckled at the fact I had nearly destroyed a gym leader that had hit me in the face with a bagel. I smiled again and wiped my face dry.

"Flannery is a new leader. You'll be her first challenger." I tilted my head at him. "She has seven older brothers, so she always has to prove she's tough. And when she saw me with you, well, you know the rest."

"That's good, because I don't need a badge from her." I threw the towel in the sink. "I think the punch was enough. Hopefully she'll live to see fifty."

"Mew," Steven said quickly. "She's willing to apologize if you are."

"In other words, you're making her."

"Oh, she has no choice. She just got here yesterday. She hasn't made a single friend, and if she leaves things like the way they are, then she'll have no choice but to back out of her duties." I walked up to him. "In other words, if you don't make things right with her, she won't be able to be a gym leader." I sighed.

"I don't like what she did," I mumbled, "but I'll do it for her sake." Steven's shoulders relaxed.

"Thank you, Mew." He took my hand in his and we both walked out of the room. Brendan, forcing himself to be calm now that the whole ordeal had passed, followed. We stepped out into the open, where Flannery was just setting up the last of the tables. She had taped an ice pack over her eye, which was already beginning to swell. She saw me with Steven's hand in mine.

Then she went berserk.

"Hey, who do you think you are, his girlfriend?" The pokemon center was now more full. Having heard the commotion from just a few minutes ago, more people had come to spectate. And they were getting a show now, thanks to Flannery's sudden jealousy. "That's the champion, not your boy toy!"

I stared at her, an obviously fake smile on my face. She approached me and slapped my hand out of his. Then she put her hand on her hip and met my eyes. Her dark amber eyes were ignited in a fiery blaze.

"Flannery, _stop_," Steven whispered. "This is idiotic. It's like you don't want your job."

"Let's battle." My words brought both of them to silence. "Flannery, I challenge you to a battle. Not you challenge me, but I challenge you, as in the way it should be." She began to reach for her belt. "Not in here. We'll go outside, and we'll battle there."

"Right." She turned and walked out the door. I turned to Steven.

"She's really nice," I said sarcastically. "Good choice of a gym leader. I'm sure she'll be great one day. By the way, she has a crush on you." He blushed. Just like I had guessed: he already had somewhat of an idea about that. I guess that's what made her so competitive in the first place.

"Are you coming or not, you little punk?!" I heard her shout from the outside. I rolled my eyes and ran outside. She had already called out her first pokemon: a torkoal. I rubbed my face with my hands. "What?! Are you already intimidated?!"

"No," I said, trying to keep my cool. "It's just stupid to call your pokemon out first. Now I know which pokemon I can use against you." I threw out Plum's pokeball. He emerged, twirling in anticipation. "Plum, disarming voice!" The kirlia leapt forward and got as close to the tiny, impossibly slow pokemon and shouted almost right next to his ear. The pokemon took the full force of the blow. Flannery was quick.

"Bite, now!" Torkoal nipped at Plum's hair, trapping her in place. "Flamethrower, give it all you got!" He exhaled thickly, expelling hot fire all over my pokemon. I shouted for him to dodge it, but there was no way he could've been able to. Plum took the blow, so thick that I couldn't even see his outline. When the flames stopped, he fainted. His eyes were still swirling when I retrieved him. "Hey, Mew. How about we make a bet?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, readying Eve's pokeball.

"A double battle!" Flannery tossed out her slugma and healed her torkoal with a hyper potion. "If you beat these two pokemon in a double battle, I'll give you the badge and an apology!" I blinked at her.

"And if I lose?"

"I get to keep your boyfriend and you owe me an apology." I let out Eve and Sinbad, they shivered in anticipation, ready for battle. "What do you say?" Steven and Brendan were standing in front of the pokecenter. Steven was keeping his cool, but his cheeks were red.

"Deal," I agreed in Flannery's direction. Steven turned to me, right eye twitching. He mouthed, "What?" before hiding his face in his hands. "I accept the terms."

"Then let's do this!" She cracked her knuckles and pointed at me. "Both of you, focus your flamethrowers on the nuzleaf! Take out him first!" Sinbad heard her and did a quick backflip, shifting the blade of grass from one side of his mouth to the other. Eve and him both shook their fear off and prepared themselves for battle.

"Sinbad, use pursuit on torkoal! Eve, stop the slugma with double kick!" The two of them took off. Flannery's torkoal was painfully slow, so Sinbad was able to hit it three times with the same move before it made another move to bite. Having seen what had happened to Plum, Sinbad stuck his foot in his mouth instead. The sitrus berry that had been tucked under one of the holes in his shell fell out. "Good knock off, Sinbad!" He grunted in reply and jumped away, posing.

Even hit the slugma dead on with a double kick, but on the first hit, she yelped in surprised and backed away. A few seconds later, she let out another yelp. Oh, no. I forgot that slugma had flame body as an ability. Now Eve was burned. I couldn't use any more physical attacks on that pokemon, not without being seriously damaged. But Eve didn't really know any ranged moves other than her weak fire type attack. She looked to me, apparently coming to the same solution.

"Eve, attack torkoal, hit him as many times at you can!" She nodded and ducked out of the way. Sinbad had heard our exchange and landed beside my starter. "Both of you, pursuit, double kick, go!" They took off at the same time, limbs drawn back in ready. As soon as their moves hit, the torkoal was knocked backwards and into a lump of sand that some kids were playing in near the hot springs. They saw the pokemon, blinked, then continued playing. Torkoal was down and out for the count.

"I'm not losing to you, you little punk!" Flannery jabbed a finger at me. "Slugma! Ancient power! Focus on that combusken!" The pokemon closed her eyes and began humming. Eve and Sinbad held up their arms, ready for whatever came their way. When Eve bent over, suddenly worn from the exhaustion of being burned, SInbad jumped out of the way. It was then that the rocks from under Eve shot into the air. She was hit from point blank range by these. It was only when the slugma needed to breathe that she was released.

She was on the ground for a while. I thought she had fainted until she put her hands on the ground and lifted herself up and got onto her feet. She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and stumbled onto her knee. There, she took another hit from the burn and fainted. I retrieved her.

"Not looking so good for you now, isn't it?" Flannery gloated. "Give up now and you can still get your badge, lover girl."

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "Sinbad can take you down anytime, anywhere. He may be a grass type, but he's just as powerful against your fire types as any other pokemon." He nodded, fists in front of his face in preparation. "In fact, take the first shot. I'll let you try and land a hit on him." Sinbad did a backflip, bellowing his strength on the landing. Flannery smiled.

"If you say so, little punk." She pulled out her hair, letting the fiery locks flow down over her shoulders. I bared a sliver of my teeth and did the same. Though my hair was not as long as hers, it was twice as brilliant. She laughed. "Someone like you should get your hair redyed. It's looking a little faded."

"First off, you're entirely wrong about that," I started, "and I'm not even going to bother to explain. Just know that you're going down. Hard!" I pointed towards the slugma. "Razorwind!" Sinbad took a deep breath.

"Ha, good luck! That move takes two turns- what?!" My nuzleaf hit her slugma dead on with the attack, knocking the pokemon backwards so fast that half of its' lava body was left behind in her path. Once it had taken to the air, Sinbad added his own touch and hit the pokemon with a swift razor leaf, cutting through the pokemon like knives. He landed, took a brief pose, and then refused to turn back as the pokemon landed behind him, fainted.

Flannery grabbed at her hair, mouth wide open. "How… how was that pokemon able to use razorwind in one turn?! It's not possible!"

"You're right," I said. "It's not possible. It is, however, when you're more preoccupied with showing off your hair and taunting mine than actually battling." She didn't say anything. "Sinbad is a grass type pokemon. If he tried to strike your slugma with a physical attack, there's no doubt that he would be burned and faint. But when he evolved, he learned razorwind, which I didn't think would have much use until now. It's the only ranged move he knew that wasn't grass, therefore, the best choice to attack with." I smiled. "Luckily, I didn't need to make a distraction of my own. When you started mocking me with your hair, I just played along. This gave Sinbad the chance to charge his razorwind. By the time you were done, he was ready to attack. Thus, my victory." I threw my hair over my shoulder. "If I had a mic, I'd drop it."

"Nuzeaf," Sinbad agreed, making the motion himself.

"B-but… I… Steven…" She stomped her foot and balled her fists at her side. "How could I be so stupid?! I let my first challenger destroy me!"

"Stop being so hard on yourself." Steven stepped between us. "Flannery, you're a great trainer. I've never seen Mew work so hard to try and win a badge before." He rubbed Sinbad's head. "But you let yourself think you won when it hadn't even ended yet. You can't let stupid things like boys preoccupy yourself from battle." He looked to me and nodded. I nodded back.

"Hey, can I battle her?" The lot of us looked towards the kids playing in the sand. One of the kids, a boy in blue swim trunks, was running up to Flannery with a single pokeball in his hand. "Battle me! I want to try and get my badge! C'mon!"

"Me, too!" The girl that had been playing with him pushed past, holding a ball of her own. "Battle, battle!"

"I guess she is pretty tough," mumbled one of the men near the pokemon center. "I like her, what about you?" The guy next to him scratched the back of his head.

"I'm going to train a little more before I even try against her. She's definitely stronger than the last one we had."

I don't know if Steven and Brendan saw it, but Flannery was glowing with pride. She puffed out her chest and put both hands on her hips, soaking in the praise. The whole town had watched our battle, and they were happy with it. Even though she lost, they had quite the affection for her.

"Hey," I said, interrupting her. I stepped up to her, a proud smile on my face. "We had a bet, remember?" She smiled back.

"Of course. I'm true to my word." She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a badge. She took my hand and set it right in the center of the palm. "I'm sorry I creamed you. It was a stupid mistake."

"And I'm sorry about your eye," I replied. "You'll be ok, right?"

"I won't end up like Sinbad, if that's what you're asking." My nuzleaf snorted in challenge. "No offense. I just like both my eyes." Sinbad didn't reply, just pull out a blade of grass and began chewing on it. "Yeah, the eye will be fine. I hope it scars. That way I can have a way to remember you." I took the badge from her hand and put it on the inside of my jacket. The other three badges seemed to shine even brighter with a new companion.

"We have to battle again sometime," Flannery said. "That was one great battle! I bet I can beat you next time!"

"Deal." We shook hands. "Friends?"

"Friends." Her eyes caught fire again. "For now."

Mew Used Taunt!

Flannery Is Distracted!

Flannery Was Defeated!

Mew Received a Gym Badge!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	37. Gabby And Ty: Broadcast Our Love!

Chapter 37

Steven was by my side. "We should get your pokemon healed. We need to get back on the path." He met eyes with Flannery. She blushed under his gaze. "Keep training. You'll need to beat a few trainers if you hope to keep this position."

"R-right, s-sir!"

"Don't call me sir. I'm not a sergeant." She blushed even harder. "Call me Steven. It's better to keep it that way."

"R-right," she whispered, "Steven."

"Don't get any ideas," I whispered. "You lost, girl. Keep your word." She glared at me, ready to protest, but Steven grabbed my hand and pulled me away. I returned Sinbad to his pokeball before he dragged me to the pokemon center.

"You have an unusual knack for wanting to get in trouble," he whispered. "You need to stop before you actually get hurt next time." I snorted.

"I can take on anything," I retorted. He stepped closer.

"You think you can, but you can't." He paused. "Let me help you next time, alright? You need to stop taking the burden of everything on yourself. I'm here for you." I blushed. "Can you do that for me? Stop taking everything on yourself?"

"Y-yeah." He smiled and kissed the top of my head. A camera snapped a picture right then and there. Steven and I froze in our spots.

"Mr. Champion, can I get a shot of you and your girlfriend?" someone called. The two of us looked towards where the voices had come from. Another picture was snapped, blinding me. As soon as my vision cleared, I saw that a news reporter and a cameraman were taping us. The reporter leaned forward to get a better look at me. "My, what unusual hair! Is it dyed all those different shades?"

"N-no," I replied. "I was born with it." The cameraman snapped another picture of me. I held up my hand, blinking.

"Stop, Ty, you're blinding her," the reporter scolded lightly.

"Oh, right." He hit a button on the side of his device. "Do you think you two could look all cuddly for a second? We want to make the tomorrow's front page."

"U-u-um." I stammered. "I don't think we really want to-" Steven grabbed a hold of me, hands on my waist, and looked towards the camera. He nudged me slightly to do the same. I forced myself to stop blushing, faced the camera, and smiled. He snapped a picture without the flash on. Then he moved his hand in the air, gesturing for us to change it up. I froze, unsure of what to do. Steven did it for me and lifted my chin to him, urging me to look him right in the eyes. When they had snapped the picture, he leaned forward and kissed me. I melted into him and kissed back, almost oblivious to the various snips of the camera that were being taken.

"Ok, we're doing good!" Ty put his camera on record and began adjusting some knobs. "We're live in five!" The reporter held a mic to my face, waited a short while, then began speaking in a loud voice.

"Hello, I'm Gabby with Hoenn News. Can I get your name?"

"Um, Mew." A crowd started gathering around us again.

"So it's true what everyone is saying? Is it true you're dating the champion?" I looked to Steven. He smiled and nodded slightly, moving his hand from my waist to my shoulder. I was extremely camera shy all of a sudden, but now I could speak without freaking out.

"Yes. Yes, I am." Gabby nodded.

"Are you also competing in the Hoenn League?" In response, I showed her the four badges I had already earned. Ty zoomed in on them slightly before focusing back on me. "Then one day you will have to face Steven in battle. Are you going to be ok with that?" I took a moment to think.

"I'll be just fine with it. I hope to one day become just as strong as he is." Steven chuckled, as if my challenge was a joke. I glared at him. He just smiled at me. Ty snapped a picture mid-tape.

"Are you planning on challenging the Petalburg Gym next?" I froze, hoping I had heard her wrong. "Don't freeze up, honey, you're live!" My mouth couldn't have felt drier.

"Yes," I said, able to maintain my calm for the time being. "We're heading there next."

From a TV set next to the kitchen table in LittleRoot Town, Norman dropped his glass. His face was white as a ghost, his eyes and mouth wider than they'd ever been. My mom dabbed at her forehead with a napkin, already worried about he was going to do about the sudden predicament. He was frozen stiff, tea pouring from his mouth and all over the table. When the screen turned back to Gabby, he fell out of his chair and onto the floor.

"Oh, dear," Mom whispered. "Who would have thought our daughter could make a man like Norman lose his cool?"

"You heard it here and you heard it first," Gabby said from the television. "Champion Steven now has a girlfriend: a pink-haired girl that goes by the name Mew! She's on the way to Petalburg, so if you're hoping for a good challenge, head on over! I know we will be there! Next time on Hoenn News!"

Mom clicked off the TV. She leaned down to Norman, who was just beginning to wake. She helped him to his feet, where he began brushing off droplets of water that had gathered on his coat.

"I had the weirdest dream," he said. Mom chuckled.

"Um, Norm, that wasn't a dream."

"You haven't even heard it yet," he protested, starting towards the door. "Just need some fresh air, is all." When he opened the door, Brendan's mom was preparing to knock. She saw and him smiled.

"Oh, Norm. You must have heard the news already." Norman twitched. "Who would have thought that Mew would make friends so quickly, let alone a boyfriend of the champion!" His face started paling. He began to feel faint all over again. "Are… are you ok?"

There was a long pause. Mom and Professor Birch, having heard the conversation, stepped up to him. The gym leader robotically wiped the drool from his maw and forced a smile. It came off more as a crazed grin rather than a friendly smile. Every stepped back slightly.

"Norman, I'm sure she's in control of everything," Birch coaxed softly. Norman shook his head.

"Oh, yes. I'm sure of that." He brought his fist down into his palm, hard. "But if she can't beat me, then she's out of the pokemon league." Mom tried to grab his shoulder. He let her do so, but the fire didn't fade from his eyes. "Ok, she won't be banned from the league, but she sure as hell won't get my blessing in their relationship!" Mom sighed.

"Oh, dear. It's happening." Brendan's mom looked at her oddly. She sighed. "I always feared the day Mew would bring a boyfriend home. And somehow, she managed to snag Norman's boss."

Norman Is Getting All Fired Up!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…


	38. Who Is Brendan? Friend Or Foe?

Chapter 38

As soon as Gabby and Ty had packed up, Brendan approached us, taking us under each arm and bringing the three of us close together. He laughed.

"You two were so cute, I almost jumped in there myself!" I hid my face in my hands.

"My dad is going to kill me," I whispered. "He watches the news every time it's on. There's no doubt that he saw everything." Brendan punched my shoulder. "Ow, what gives?"

"Your dad had to learn of it sooner or later," he said. "You're dating the champion, Mew. Gym leaders are usually the first ones to know about that kinda stuff." He jabbed a thumb at Steven who pushed it away. "This dude, right here, this is your dad's boss. So, in a roundabout way, you're your dad's boss!"

"Shut up," Steven said. "I'll take care of Norman. If he has to listen to anyone, it would be me." He pulled out his PokeNav and began dialing the number. He held it to his ear for a few seconds before pulling it away. "Odd, it says it's busy."

My PokeNav started ringing. The two of them could tell by the look on my face that I was not ready for the shout-fest that was about to start. I picked up the phone and held it far from my ear, one eye closed to ease the impact.

"Hello?"

"Are you coming to challenge the gym?" His voice was abnormally taut. I was so surprised that he wasn't yelling I didn't think to answer. "Are you a challenger or not, young lady?"

"Um, Dad?"

"This is Norman," he stated. I paused.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Norman," he corrected again.

"Ok, I know you're upset. Can you just listen?" After I spoke, he grumbled. I heard Mom in the background, whispering to him. As soon as she finished, he snorted. "Look, it's not exactly what I planned." He didn't say anything. "Ok, stop it. I'm sixteen I can do what I want." Both Steven's and Brendan's arms went to their heads. They must've seen what was coming, because I sure as hell didn't.

"_Mew Zakuro_!" my father screamed. Now was the time to hold the phone away from my ear. I muffled him a little bit by putting my thumb over the speaker, but it didn't seem to do much to soften the blow. "You get home this instant! You are grounded! If I had my pidgeot I would fly over there and kill you! What on Earth are you thinking?! I just got the job here and you decide to date _my boss_?! What on Earth do you expect I tell the other Leaders?! I basically set you up with the guy!"

"Dad," I whispered.

"That's Leader Norman to you, Challenger!" I could hear mom trying to calm him down, but now he was ignoring her completely. "You come to Petalburg right now! As soon as you're here, your pokemon better be prepared, because I'm not losing to you! You are not leaving LittleRoot once I beat you! Why, if I had my pidgeot-"

Click. My mom must've gotten ahold of the phone because he sounded as if he wasn't the least bit done tearing into me. Luckily the crowd had dispersed after the TV shooting, or else I would've made the news twice. I flipped the PokeNav shut and tucked it in my back pocket, expressionless.

"You, uh," Brendan started. "You're taking this real well." I twitched.

"I'm so dead." Steven, who had been ruffling his hair the whole while I had been yelled at, straightened it and took a deep breath. "Even you know it. Can't you command him to just chill out?"

"I'm afraid I can only govern what happens when you two battle," he explained sadly. "If it makes you feel better, I can help you prepare for battle." I put my arm across my face.

"So you're telling me you're not going to try and calm him down?" He paused.

"I suppose I can after you two battle. When you guys are done, maybe he'll let me talk to him as a friend, not a boss." Brendan chuckled.

"I guess we have to head back that way now?" He rubbed his neck and looked towards the ledges we had to climb to get here. "I suppose fiery path is our best bet for now." He looked towards the sky. "If we take our bikes, we can get to Mauville by tonight. We should head out now."

"Right," I said.

"Hey, wait!" Flannery ran up to me, a big egg in her hand. She handed it to me, smiling wide. I stared at her, unsure of what to say. "It's an egg. A pokemon egg."

"What pokemon?" I asked, rolling it over delicately in my hands. It was so warm like it had been put in an incubator for some time. "It's pretty hard for an egg. What pokemon is inside?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," she admitted. "A trainer found this egg in Granite Cave. He brought it to us when it wouldn't hatch. Even keeping it in the springs and the warm sand won't help it." Her ice patch started dripping down her face. She wiped it away and handed me a fanny pack filled with blankets. After she clipped it around my waist without my permission and secured the egg inside, she gave me a thumbs up. "Good luck, girl. If you need help, Steven has my number." Then she turned and ran towards the pokemon center. Steven reached forward and delicately took ahold of the egg. He ran his thumb over it.

"You're right when you said it was hard. It's definitely not a squishy pokemon." He snuggled it back in the fanny pack. "All I can tell is it'll have great defence but terrible speed."

"So a like a rock type? Ground? Steel?" Brendan clapped his hands together. "I got it! It's a dragon type."

"No," Steven sighed. "There are no known dragons hanging out in Granite Cave. Good guess though." After he spoke, we all started back to the pokemon center. The two of them took the lead while I held the egg close to my face. I couldn't see through the thick, white and green spotted shell, but I could feel the warmth the pokemon was emitting. I put my cheek up to it.

Wow. The little guy/girl even had a heartbeat. A loud one. It wasn't dead, like Flannery had probably guessed. It just took quite a long time to hatch. I tucked it back in the fanny pack. I made sure the zipper or anything else scratched the shell. It made me feel better knowing it was comfortable. We entered the pokemon center.

"Awe, look at little Mew." Brendan stepped up to me and started rubbing my head. "You already love the little guy in there."

"Or girl," I corrected. He chuckled.

"Calm down, girl. We'll see in time." He pat the egg softly. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll love you just like your other pokemon, which you should probably heal before we head out."

"O-oh, right." I ran up to the counter and began healing my pokemon. Steven and Brendan stayed by the door, where they readied their bikes for the road. Steven adjusted his hair and started adjusting my seat to the right height.

"You know," Brendan said quietly, "her dad wouldn't have freaked out so much if it had been me dating her." Steven rolled his eyes. "You know it's true."

"I'm sure he would have freaked no matter who dated her," he replied. "I'm beginning to feel some jealousy from you. Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what? Me and her? Or you and her?" Steven stopped adjusting the bike to meet eyes with the rival. Brendan's eyes were fiery red again. "I may not look like it, but I have more experience in bizarre things like Mew's powers." Steven narrowed his eyes.

"What do you know about this?"

"A whole lot more than you do." Brendan leaned forward, face inches away from Steven's. "I bet I can steal her from you if I really wanted to. But she likes you. I'll let you have her." He adjusted his hat, which had nearly fallen off. Black hair exposed itself for the first time. Steven pushed him away.

"You're not Brendan Birch."

"You're right. I'm not." Steven made to grab at him, but the fake Brendan clasped his arm tightly, bending the bones. The champion hissed from under the pressure. "Believe me when I say you two can trust me. If she's going to fulfill her destiny, she's going to need you by her side. But if you screw her over again and make her give up one of her lives for you, I'll make it so you can't be revived."

"I'm not afraid of people like you," Steven said, yanking his hand back. "Who are you?"

"Someone who can take out your team in six turns." He adjusted his hat again. "For the safety of Mew and yourself, you better keep quiet about this. She's not ready to meet me for real yet. Not until her time has come." Steven didn't say anything. "Oh ho. You must know who I am then. Play your cards right, and I may just battle you."

"Why are you in Hoenn?" The champion snapped quietly. "You know I only welcome Cynthia here. Not anybody of your kind." His red eyes flared brightly.

"Sadly, you don't know enough about me to be saying that. I'm here for the sake of Mew. And Mew needs you. Therefore, I technically need you, too." He paused. I approached right then with my team in their pokeballs and the egg nestled in my bag. I hugged onto Steven and he hugged back, glaring at Brendan. His eyes shone red.

A deep, ominous Red.

Mew Received The Egg!

Mew's Pokemon Are Fully Healed!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	39. Steven is Quite the Cutie!

Chapter 39

Like Brendan had predicted, it took all day to reach Mauville town. The whole ride there was unusually quiet. I started out peddling, but Steven grabbed my hands and instead of putting them on the handlebars, wrapped them around me. I had no choice but to stop peddling; I couldn't from that position.

"What's wrong?" I whispered. He didn't look back at me.

"I just want you to relax and hold onto me instead." He bowed his head slightly. "I like it when you do that."

"Oh, ok." I hugged him tighter. He ran his thumb over the back of my hand softly. He did that for awhile before returning to biking. I didn't let go of him. It wasn't like him not to look at me when he spoke. I wanted to believe him, but for some reason, I couldn't. I'd talk to him about it later.

We had just emerged from the fiery path when night fell and the sun slowly sunk beneath the horizon. I loved seeing the moon rise and the sun set. I nudged Steven, who had his gaze stuck firmly on the path. He saw what I was gesturing to and smiled. He sat up in his seat and held onto me with his free hand. His shoulders relaxed as we started towards the sun.

I kissed his cheek, which was sort of hard considering he was a bit taller than me from the waist up. He smiled genuinely this time and squeezed my hand.

"You're distracting me," he said jokingly, slowly easing to the right to avoid hitting a patch of rocks on the road to Mauville. "We could crash."

"I trust you," I replied, hugging him again. "You're my sweetheart, remember?" He chuckled.

"And you're mine." He leaned forward slightly. "Mauville is up ahead. It looks like someone already broke the boulders that were once in the path."

"Oh yeah, Red broke those when we left here a few days back." Steven suddenly sunk into silence. "Are you alright?"

"Yep. Just got lost looking into the sunset."

"Yep?" I asked. "When have you ever said 'yep' before?"

"Just thought it was a good time to say it is all." I didn't reply, and he didn't say anything more. Now I knew something was definitely up with him. I'd wait till we were alone. Then he'd talk to me.

We pulled up to Mauville city right when the last of the sun dipped under the horizon. Thankfully the city of Mauville allowed everyone to ride a bike wherever, so when we strolled inside, no one stopped us. We entered and exited out into the courtyard, where people were just beginning to head inside for the night.

We got off our bikes at the bike rack in front of the pokecenter. Brendan approached Steven and I, rubbing the back of his neck.

"From the looks of it, we need to spend the night here."

"No, really?" Steven snapped. Brendan narrowed his eyes at him in what looked like a warning. "Sorry, I'm just tired. Let's just head to bed before it gets too late." He locked up the bike and looked to me. "Are you coming?" He saw the look of confusion on my face and shook it off. "Nevermind. I'll see you in the morning." Then he left. I tried to follow him, but Brendan held me back. I watched as Steven walked inside and checked in at the counter.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked.

"The whole thing with Norman must've just hit him," he convinced. "I'm sure he'll get over it sooner or later." There was a pause. "Hey, I need to tell you something."

"Yeah, what is it?" He paused, as if he was just formulating what he was going to say. "Don't tell me you're acting weird, too. I don't want to be in the middle of anything between you and Steven if that's what it's about."

"That's just what it's about," he said, taking a soft hold of my arm. My heart started racing. "If you had to choose between your destiny and the two of us, what would you do?"

"I… don't quite understand the question," I whispered, suddenly weirded out. Brendan took a breath and looked to the ground. Then, he grabbed my other arm and pulled me close. I leaned away. "Stop it, Brendan. I'm not in the mood for something stupid."

"It's not stupid," he said quickly. "It's a matter of life and death." He looked around to make sure no one was around before continuing. "You know you'll never be able to live a normal life with the powers you have, right? You know that no matter what you do, you'll always be mewthree, always be destined to protect the world, right?" I shrugged him off me. I was beginning to feel scared. "Look, what I'm getting down to is this: if you had to choose between saving this region or saving the two of us, which would you pick?" I glowered at him.

"There won't ever be a time like that," I said harshly, turning away. The automatic door to the pokemon center opened. Before I entered, I looked back at him and whispered, "If it were a matter of life and death, I'd save all three."

"You can't expect it to be that easy-"

"Sure I can." I looked away and started inside the pokecenter. As soon as I was inside, I saw Steven disappear into one of the rooms. I talked to Nurse Joy at the front desk, who had seen the news recently, and she gave me another key to his room. I went inside and he was already curled up in bed. He hadn't even put on his night clothes. He didn't say anything when I opened the door.

I sighed through my nose. Why did this have to happen to our group? Things were going so well. I was about to approach Steven softly, but halfway to his bed, I realized that wouldn't do much. Then an idea struck me. I grabbed his blankets and started tugging them. He grumbled and tried to pull them back, but I was so much stronger. He was almost fully off the bed when I tugged it from his hands. He glared at me, his emerald gaze full of hurt. For the first time since I had been with him, his gaze hurt me, too.

"Brendan is being an idiot," I stated simply, dropping the blanket. Steven just stared, waiting for me to say more. "He babbling nonsense about being mewthree and whatnot." For some reason, this only helped soften his gaze slightly. "If you don't think I'm telling the truth, will you at least tell me what I can do to make you feel better?" He looked to his right, silent.

Then, "What do you see in him?" The question took me by surprise. "What is it about him that makes you want to be his friend?"

"He's helped us this whole way. He got me into the world of pokemon. He's even gotten me out of a few sticky situations." I paused. "He's my first real friend, I guess." I kneeled in front of him. He was still looking away, so I used his own trick against him. I gently turned his chin in my direction. "Look at me, Steven. Does it look like I'm going anywhere?"

He looked deep into my purple eyes, my stern face, and smiled faintly. "No," he admitted. "It doesn't." He stood up and took me into his arms. "I'm a fool if I think that he can take you away."

"That's right," I said. "Now let's go to bed. I'm exhausted." He started blushing wildly. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"N-no," he managed. "I didn't… I didn't really think you wanted to sleep in the same room again." My face turned pink.

"Is… isn't that what happens after the first time sleeping beside each other?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" I paused. "Wait. you've never…?" He put a finger to my lips.

"Ssh. I don't like people knowing that." I smiled from beneath his hold and pushed it away. He was blushing wildly now.

"Knowing what? You've never had a girlfriend before?" I teased.

"Ssh! Someone will hear you." He looked over towards the door, then back to me. "It's embarrassing. I'm supposed to be cool and seem like I've had a ton of girlfriends. If you let it get out you're my first, I'll die of embarrassment."

"You're the champion of the Hoenn Region. How have you not had a girlfriend before?" He put his hands in his pockets and looked to the side. "I've seen pictures of you swarmed by girls. All of them were a lot prettier than I was." He bit his lip.

"If you saw how they acted before those stupid pictures my father made me take, then you'd understand."

"So you didn't date any of the girls you've been in pictures with?" I asked. He nodded.

"None. A few of them spread rumors that we 'went out' but I can assure you that none of that is true. It's a publicity stunt and it was the most annoying thing I encountered when I became a champion. It sort of ruined dating for me at the time, knowing the press would be everywhere when I got a girlfriend." He sat down on the bed. I sat beside him.

"Then why were you so easy-going in front of the cameras today?" My voice got low. "It didn't feel like you were taking pictures with one of those girls, did it?" He waved his hands out in front of him.

"No! No, that's not it!" He stopped talking.

"Then…?" I coaxed.

"I, uh, wanted to show you off."

"What?"

"You're the first girl I've ever liked," he said. "So I thought it was only natural to show you off. The news report was mainly sent out to my dad and those girls that spread the rumors about me." He took a moment to think. "I wanted to make it official," he finally said.

I hugged onto him, burying my face in his shirt. "I-I didn't offend you, did I?" He hugged me back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No," I said, meeting his eyes. "That was just the cutest thing anyone has ever done for me." He blinked in confusion.

"You… you didn't mind I did that?" I shook my head and his shoulders unwound. "But, Norman…"

"He can deal with it," I replied, snuggling under his chin. "I'm just glad to be with someone as wonderful as you." He was so shocked by the sudden turn of events, he didn't know what to do. I nudged him after a few minutes and he hugged me back. For a while, it was a soft hug, then it turned into a really tight, warm hug. He held me close and buried his face in my hair, which I had never tied up from the previous battle.

"Spend the night here," he said, his voice cracking. I laughed.

"I think I can do that."

"But you have to get out for now." We pulled away.

"Um, why?" He blushed really hard, struggling for the words.

"I, um, need to… pajamas." I started blushing, too.

"Oh, right." I stood up. I didn't quite know what to say, so I just walked out of there and closed the door behind me. As soon as I turned around, Brendan tossed me the bag I had left on the bike. I nearly dropped it out of surprise.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. We met eyes. "I'm hoping we can still be friends." I was so confused by the sudden change in mood from when I was in there with Steven that I had to process exactly what he was apologizing for before I could formulate a response.

"Are you really that jealous?" I asked. Brendan didn't reply. "I'll forgive you if you don't take it out on Steven like you did today when I wasn't around." His eyes flashed, but faded when I continued. "I chose him, and you should respect that." He nodded.

"Of course." A smile lit up his face. "I take it you two are in the same room again?" I blushed. "Of course you are. Good luck with that. It's awkward the first few weeks." He started past me.

"Wait, you've-?"

"Plenty," he said with a playful grin. "None of which I keep in contact, in case you wanted to know." I threw a berry from my bag at him. He caught it and took a big bite out of it. "Just toyin'. Night." Then he started down the hallway. Without looking back, he entered his room and shut the door. As soon as he disappeared, I made for the ladies room. Luckily my mom packed me actual pajamas and not the stupid Clefairy ones I had been using for years. I slipped them on and started towards the room. When I tried the knob, I found it locked.

"Um...?" I started.

"I changed my mind!" Steven called from the inside. "I'm too nervous!" I chuckled. "I heard that!"

"Look, I'll sleep on the floor if it makes you feel better," I started. "But Nurse Joy is asleep. And the only other place I can sleep is with Brendan." The door couldn't have unlocked any faster. I opened the door and he was just sitting on the bed, face red and eyes on the floor.

He was... amazingly cute. It was just a soft blue T-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts, but it was so casual for him it was like he was someone else. I had put on the old fleece set of pajamas that were once white but had been washed with one of my dads red socks on accident. Now it was a bright pink. He was so nervous he couldn't look up from the floor. I sat next to him and started doing the same.

"How do you not act like this in public when something embarrassing happens?" I asked when the silence seemed to drag on forever.

"I put on a mask." Now I looked to him. "When I first became champion, I was shy. But my dad told me to act like how he would, so I just picture myself as him and do whatever he does in those situations. I'm nervous so much that mask has become my personality."

"Well, you don't have to wear it around me." He met my eyes. "You don't. I like this side of you just as much as everything else." He sighed through his nose.

"Are you sure?"

"I couldn't be more certain." He smiled down at the floor. I did likewise. "Are you getting tired?"

"Very. I'm glad you asked that because I'm dying here." We both fell back into the bed. It took a while of awkward shuffling and uncomfortable poses, but we managed to find a position that worked: the same one from the night before. He held me close to his chest and ran his fingers through my hair. He was trembling, but I was, too, so it helped unease the both of us. We both sighed and snuggled closer. "I'm going to say it now, it's a lot more awkward than last night."

"Agreed," I replied. "Hey, if you've never had a girlfriend, then was I your...?"

"First kiss? Yeah, sorta."

"Sorta?"

"Sometimes when girls get excited and I'm around they come up and kiss me randomly. It didn't start happening until after I became champion, though." He added the last part like it was to soften the blow.

"I can understand that," I assured. "It was probably pretty weird when it first happened."

"I honestly can't remember the first time it happened," he admitted. "It just happened so much that I never really took too long to remember them. Usually I don't even get to see the girls' face. Other trainers yank them back and I never see them again." He wrapped his arms tighter around me. "I remember first kissing you, though. That won't leave my memory any time soon."

"I'll never forget it either." I curled up into a ball next to him. "I'm sorry my first kiss..."

"I don't blame you. I don't count it, though." The jealousy was hinted in his voice.

"I don't count it either." We paused.

"I just thought of something."

"Yeah?" I prompted.

"My dad watches the news, too." We both paused, then exhaled together.

"Damn."

Mew Arrived In Mauville City!

How Is The Egg?

It Doesn't Appear Close To Hatching...

Saving Game...

Game Saved!


	40. Bonus Chapter! New Years in Mauville!

Bonus Chapter 40

"Hey, wake up!" Brendan's voice was so loud that I sat up straight, nearly knocking Steven off the side of the bed. His hair was in wild disarray, his pajamas scrambled, and he grabbed onto me the second his eyes opened. Brendan was standing by the bed, fully dressed in a trench coat. I twitched.

"The door was locked, wasn't it?" I whispered towards Steven. Brendan heard and answered for him. In his hand, completely taken apart and put back together in a hurried mess was the lock to the door. I could tell it was ours because light was shining through the door where it used to be. "You know you can get arrested for something like that."

"I'll put it back later," he promised, tossing it over his shoulder. It landed on the desk but shattered into several different pieces. He ignored all the tiny bits of metal crumbling to the floor to point at us and smile. "It's about 11:30 at night. The New Year is coming in and we have to be ready."

"You make it sound like it's some sort of legendary pokemon," I observed. "And why are you wearing the trenchcoat? It makes the breaking into our room thing seem more like a real burglary." He straightened and put a fist on his side.

"I am more than glad you asked." Then he unbuttoned his trench coat and opened it wide. On the inside, filling every pocket and every available space were firecrackers, party poppers, and other smaller explosives that made the celebration of the new year. He even had some bigger fireworks pinned to his everyday outfit. "As soon as we make our New Year resolutions, drink a few moomoos and then you two make out, we will all celebrate year 2015 with a fine array of color and light."

"Instead of just buying a bag of fireworks," Steven started, "you also bought a trench coat and several pins and spent probably a good amount of time to make them look organized. Not only that but you completely destroyed the lock to our room instead of knocking so you could tell us it's time to celebrate the New Year?" Brendan took a minute to think.

"Yes."

"I'll fix the lock later," I said, standing, gently nudging Steven to do the same. Brendan led us out the door by gently pushing on the wood. I was about to ask why he didn't use the handle when I brushed past it. It fell to the floor and fell to pieces just as the lock had done. "Did you think you could get in by dissembling the knob?" I asked, incredulous. He looked back at me, smiling.

"I know that both the knob and the door had a lock on it. I wasn't sure which locked the room, so I took apart both."

"Since when do you have the ability to completely take apart locks like that from the outside?" Steven asked.

"I had a lot of time to burn before I turned ten," Brendan said, handing him a few party poppers, a colorful hat, and one of those party horns. "I learned a lot of skills like that. Both useful and useless." He handed different items to me.

"What useless skills are you talking about?" I questioned.

"I can't lose at tic tac toe and I can stack bowling balls for one." He took a moment to think. "I can also dance pretty well. And know basic karate."

"Karate sounds pretty useful," Steven pointed out.

"I said basic," Brendan corrected, putting on his own party hat. "I can break cinder blocks with my bare hands and feet. Then again, when you have pokemon, that stuff can be done everyday, right?"

We stepped outside. The whole city was out in the courtyard, whether it be on the grass, the balconies, or hanging their legs over the roof. Pokemon and children pranced around with sparklers, drawing cute figures in the air. Adults drank colorful drinks and watched them squeal with happiness, occasionally stopping them if they became too risky. The sky was clear of clouds and bird pokemon, who must've sensed the impending bursts of fire and rested, wings tucked tightly at their sides on the ground. They glared impatiently if kids strayed too close to their flock.

Wattson stepped out from the inside of the city. Just his sight silenced the entire city. Now all attention was on him as he pulled out one of his pokeballs. I strapped on the party hat Brendan had given me, nudging Steven to do the same. He looked at me with his eyes lowered, as if I was asking for an impossible task. I rolled my eyes in return and took it from him so I could put it on myself. He didn't want it on, I could tell. But he didn't take it off, so I guess it was alright.

"City of Mauville!" Wattson announced, stepping up to the tower in the middle of the grass. He was a hefty fellow but scaling it seemed to be of no issue to him. When he stood on top, he held a single ball to the air. "As we enter the New Year, it would only be common sense to do what we do!" His pokeball opened and an electrode popped out, landing delicately on his palm. The other ball dropped the the grass. "Get your fuses ready and step back!" After he spoke, several people began grabbing fireworks with slightly longer fuses and set them in front of the tower Wattson stood on before quickly retreating. Brendan ran up to put his ridiculous amount of fireworks up there as well.

"Ah, I forgot they did that," Steven said.

"What are they doing?" The champion looked to me with a smile on his face.

"It may be a little too late to explain. Just stand back and watch." He took ahold of my hand and pulled me back gently. We stood under the gap between two balconies, a perfect view of the sky above. I was about to ask what was going on, but I caught sight of Wattson's pokemon beginning to glow from his palm. The city shrieked in joy and began to scramble away from the giant mass of fireworks they had arranged in a circle, fuses all connecting in the center.

"Ten!" someone shouted. "Nine!" they said again, more people joining. By the time they reached three, the pokemon was just a ball of light. Wattson slid the pokemon off his palm and jumped backwards, landing on the grass the same time his pokemon did. "Two!" There was a second or two of delay while Wattson howled in joy before returning to the crowd that had gathered on the outskirts of the courtyard. "One!"

The electrode exploded, lighting every fuse at once in perfect harmony. The fireworks took to the sky, some whistling, some screeching, others silent. When they began to fall, the stars disappeared and were replaced by joyous sparks and colorful patterns of light in the sky. Some took the shapes of pokemon while others took on simpler designs like hearts, smiles, and swirls. A few just popped and left a few kids covering their ears from the volume of the blast. The rest of the fireworks were random blasts of every color imaginable. Some went off late and sparks landed on the ground. Hungry electric or fire pokemon fought over who would be the first to pick it up and swallow it. The whole city was bursting into cheers, clapping, dancing, or all around celebrating. It was like the fourth of july.

Steven took me into his arms as soon as I had seen a good part of the show, bending me backwards and holding me above the grass like it was a dance move you'd see on TV. I was so taken aback I almost flinched when he kissed me. In sudden understanding, I kissed back, letting him hold me at the awkward angle. Brendan laughed and snapped a picture of us with his PokeNav. Then he joined the crowd in blowing off their horns and setting off every party popper he could at one time. He took a sparkler from a parent that was about to hand it to their kid and pranced around with the young ones, who went along with him like he was one of their own.

It was the best New Years I had ever been a part of.

Happy New Years, Readers! Be safe and have a good time!

-Your Favorite Author,

Mew Ike

In loving memory of my favorite Nana.

May 30th, 1918 - December 25th, 2014

They'll have a lot of cheesecake in heaven. Say hi to Grandpa for me.

We'll miss you. Love you, Nana.

-Your Youngest Granddaughter


	41. I Tick Off Another Gym Leader!

Chapter 41

I never slept so well before. Steven did not only emit warmth like a heater but kept pulling me closer and closer in the middle of the night. He was such a quiet sleeper that sometimes I forgot he was there except for the occasional sigh in his slumber. In the middle of the night, I turned towards him and he woke up. He wasn't completely conscious so when he leaned forward to kiss me, he fell asleep with his lips against mine. I loved it so much that I fell asleep like that, too.

I woke up before him. He was only a few inches in front of my face. His hair was sticking up in random places in wild disarray, but he was so cute with his eyes closed that I found myself taking in every detail about him: his thick eyelashes, his silver eyebrows, even his soft and pillowy lips that I sneak a kiss of whenever I can. He was so handsome for a sixteen year old, I thought he looked a little older.

I kissed him softly again. This time, he woke up. He wrapped his arms around me and flipped me under him, where he pinned me to the bed. He smiled his dashing smile, a hint of playfulness under it.

"Morning, sweetheart." He leaned forward and kissed my neck. I went limp under him. He pulled back and lie beside me, where he brushed the hair from my face to get a closer look at my eyes. "You like kissing me when I'm asleep, don't you?"

"U-u-um…" I blushed. His playful grin was back.

"Time to get up." He pulled me close and sat up. "You look cute with your hair like that. Don't brush it."

"I can't do that," I protested. "I'll look terrible."

"You're right. Just leave it like that whenever we're alone. It's too cute to share with anyone else." He helped me to my feet and I did the same for him. "You change in here this time, I'll change out there." I nodded in agreement. As soon as he left, I started slipping on one of the outfits my mom had left for me in the bag: a typical Hoenn region girl trainer outfit. I guess she had bought it in a hurry, because it was newer than the rest of the items in my bag. As soon as it was on, I heard a knock at the door. I opened it and Brendan let himself in.

"Wattson is waiting on the roof," he explained. "He's waiting for you, Mew."

"For me?" I asked. "Why?"

"For some reason, you got a badge of his without quite battling him." Brendan's words were low. "And around here, getting a badge illegally is a pretty big deal. You're lucky it's with Wattson, though. He wants to battle you to see if you're deserving of it." Steven looked to me with wide eyes.

"You stole a badge from Wattson without him knowing?" He was in complete disbelief.

"I didn't steal it," I defended, looking between the two of them. "Before I left Mauville to save you two, Red gave it to me. He saw how badly I wanted the badge before we left and I wasn't sure we'd return so he gave me the one I have now to ease my mind." I showed them the badges I had already. The Rustboro, the Dewford, the Lavaridge, and the Mauville Badge. "I hate to say it, but the Dewford badge was not really legit either. I got it with Red's espeon." Steven pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Great. Two false victories." He sighed. "Normally I would do something about it, but Wattson seems to have it under control. We can figure out Brawly later." Brendan bowed his head.

"He told me the two of you will battle between here and Verdanturf. You've battled gym leaders before, you know how it goes." Now I remembered how I had gotten in the previous mess: that pokemon Jirachi. I had completely forgotten about him after the trouble he caused. Hopefully he was somewhere else now that I was back. "What are you staring at me for?"

"Have you heard of a pokemon that grants wishes?" I asked. Brendan took a moment to think.

"Only one. Why?" A knock came at the door. Steven let himself in, his fathers mask clear on his face.

"I need to tell you guys about what happened when we were last in Mauville," I said. Steven blinked, turning to Brendan for an explanation. My rival shrugged and sat down, gesturing for me to continue. Steven leaned up against the wall, nodding. I started explaining the whole predicament with the psychic pokemon to them. They looked slightly interested at first when I told of my meeting with him, as if some people had come across the creature before. But those expressions faded and turned to surprise when I told him that my wish had come true when Jirachi heard it. When I finished, the both of them were silent.

Then, "Jirachi appears every once in awhile around here," Steven explained. "But he doesn't grant wishes for just anyone. And the lengths he took your wish to is just outstanding. I guess it's to be expected when you're mewthree." He leaned off the wall. "If you see the pokemon again, try to avoid making a wish. Everything has a downside, some more than others. It's why his powers are feared so much. The only time you should make a wish is when you're desperate and have no other choice."

"We have to keep an eye out for any legendaries now," Brendan added. "If what Jirachi said was true, the legendaries of this region will be searching for us. They're all curious creatures, no doubt they'll want to meet Mew." He paused. "First, we meet Wattson. We have to make sure you get the badge fairly before leaving, or else you could be banned from the Hoenn League. We don't need to stick out more than we do right now."

After we spoke, the three of us walked out into the pokemon center. With Brendan in the lead, the three of us stepped outside and back inside the mall-like city. After a few twists and turns, we started up the stairs towards the roof. As soon as we were there, bright light poured down on us. It was great to be in the open sun, but a part of me craved the full moon. It didn't blind me and make my skin prickle from the heat.

A heavier man with white hair and a scraggly white beard approached us when we first emerged from the stairs. He had a wide smile on his face and laugh lines under his eyes. This guy was like santa except for the yellow jumpsuit/hawaiian shirt getup that made him look like an electrician on vacation. He pat his belly and offered the same hand to me. I took it and shook firmly.

"You must be Mew," he said, pulling his hand back. "I'm Wattson, the electric gym leader of this city." I opened my mouth to speak. "I don't know how you managed to get one of my badges, but needless to say, I need to make sure you deserve it. We'll battle between here and Verdanturf. If you win, you get to keep the badge. If I win, I get the badge back and you can't try again for a week. Usually three days, but I extended it for your case."

"Understood," Brendan said quickly. I guess you had to speak quickly if you wanted to get a word in with this guy. He was so antsy, rocking back and forth on his heels like a child waiting in the lunch line. How did he manage to keep that weight if he was this antsy at eight in the morning? I was hardly awake myself. "Do you mind if the champion and I watch?"

"Boyfriend," Wattson corrected. "Mew's boyfriend can watch. I watch the news. It's big news now, isn't it, my boy?" Wattson clapped Steven on the back. The champion stumbled forward, surprised. Then he put his mask on.

"Of course. Let's go."

"Great!" Wattson pulled out a bike from behind him and hopped on it. "Last one there has to call out their pokemon first!" His feet started working at the peddled so fast that he was stationary until he kicked off. Brendan, thinking quickly, tossed his bike at me. I caught it, thought quickly, and hopped on. It was a shaky start, I almost fell over twice before I left the two of them in my dust. As soon as I started down the stairs, Brendan looked towards Steven.

"I call front on the ride after them." Steven glared at him and pulled out the bike, slowly taking the front seat. "Oh, that's so cold." The champion didn't say anything.

Meanwhile, I was trying my hardest not to hit anything while following Wattson. The bike was surprisingly adapted to going across anything, even down the two flights of stairs. the only real problem I had was turning sharp enough to follow him before he disappeared around the corner when I got on ground level. I followed him, which was probably an idiotic idea considering he was biking aimlessly around the town like he was trying to wear me down. Well, it worked. When I finally decided to abandon him and start towards the battle spot, my legs were burning. I forced myself to breathe through my nose and continue through the halls. Now wouldn't be an ideal time to pass out.

I was lost for about two minutes, unsure which was to go when I entered the courtyard until Wattson emerged from my right and blasted through the exit I assumed was the right one. I took a deep breath and forced myself to follow. It was the last strip until we reached the battle ground, but I couldn't muster the strength to beat him. He made it there first, but when I arrived, I just fell over onto the grass and buried my face in the dirt. He laughed loudly, slapping his belly audibly.

"You fell for my tricks, Mew! I hate to say I expected a little more of you." I pulled my head up from the dirt and started to my feet. When I was standing, I bent over, hands on my knees, and took a minute to recuperate. "For a girlfriend of the champion, you've got a ways to go before you're battle ready."

"We…" I panted. "We haven't even battled yet."

"I know," Wattson agreed. "But if you think about it, pokemon battling isn't solely based on pokemon themselves, but the trainer. You could've easily beat me here if you had stopped following me around, don't you agree? Isn't it true that in battles the road to victory is your own, not the one your opponent puts down for you?" I didn't have anything to say to that: he was right. I had failed my first test. "Now, for the battle. We'll each use one pokemon. You send yours out first, like we agreed."

"Fine." I stood up straight, grabbed Eve's pokeball, and called her out. She appeared, battle stance in the ready. She balanced on one leg, arms out to the side to maintain it. Wattson studied my pokemon switched two of the pokeballs on his belt, deeming them unusable for the time being. He threw out his last one, revealing an electrode.

"Hey Mew," Wattson called. "I'm going to make this a real challenge for you. If you can defeat all my pokemon with that combusken of yours, I'll let you have the badge. If it faints, then you have to wait a week before you can leave my sight." He read my expression of awe. "Yes. That means you won't be able to travel for a week."

"How many pokemon do you have?"

"Three." He held out his hands, smiling in pride. "You got a badge of mine without my permission. This is your punishment."

"Fine!" I shouted, slicing my hand through the air. "Give me your best shot!"

Leader Wattson Would Like To Battle!

Leader Wattson Is Changing The Battle Rules!

Will Mew Accept His Challenge?

[YES] NO

Battle, Start!

To Be Continued…


	42. The Battle Of A Lifetime!

Chapter 42

"Eve, go! Use flame charge!" Eve spun around, flames consuming her. As soon as the opponent blinked, the ball of fire charged, hitting the electrode head on. The pokemon rolled backwards, consumed in fire, but Eve didn't stop. She hit the electrode with flame charge after flame charge. The electrode started to panic and tried rolling away, but Eve landed on top of it and started riding it like a carni at a circus. Everywhere it rolled it was burned hotter and hotter. Only when it stopped rolling did Eve extinguish the flames and jump back beside the enemy pokemon, delicately placed on one leg once again.

Wattson looked impressed, but a sly grin was spreading across his face. I tried to think about what he could be smiling about. His pokemon had fainted almost right away.

Wait. He wasn't pulling out another pokeball. He was just standing there. His pokemon wasn't fainted. It was preparing something. But what move could it pull of that wouldn't faint- Oh no. It was going to use self destruct.

"Eve move now! Get outta the way!" She hadn't seen what was happening, but when I shouted, she did. The foe's pokemon was beginning to be consumed with bright white light. Eve jumped off from the ground and took to the air, springing as far back as she could, but it wasn't far enough. The pokemon exploded and Eve was hit by it. Luckily she was a good distance away, or it would've been much worse. Electrode's explosion singed the grass and burned a few flowers, but the majority of the devastation was focused on where it now, in a little crater of its own. Eve landed, wobbly, but ok. She wasn't anywhere near fainting.

"Good job," Wattson said, "A little late, a little late, but for the most part, good job, Mew." He threw another pokemon out there: a magneton. Thank goodness, I told myself. Steel was weak to fire: the type combination was in my favor. But magnetons were known for their ability sturdy. No doubt if I went in for a one-hitter it would survive and retaliate on the spot. I had to play on the defence. Hinder it with a few fire type moves and then end it with quick attack. From the looks of it, Wattson had figured out my plan. "Magneton, use thunder shock!"

"Dodge it, dodge it!" I shouted. Eve tried to jump out of the way but a bolt of lightning struck her in the wings. Static rippled over her feathers and she froze, stuck in place. "Fine, I'll just use a-"

"If you use a paralyze heal, I'll use a revive." I froze as well. "It's up to you, Mew. Every item you use, I'll use as well."

"Don't you think you've had enough handicaps?!" I shouted. "Cut me a break!"

"Would you rather this or a permanent ban from the pokemon league?" He narrowed his eyes at Steven, who watched in the background with a forced calm face. "Steven knows the rules as well. I'm surprised he didn't come to me about it."

"He didn't know!" I retorted. "A friend gave the badge to me!"

"And that makes it ok, Mew?" Wattson eyes started shining. He was getting really into it. "Magneton, use magnet bomb until I stop you!" The magnemites rearranged themselves from one position to the next, eyes rolling in their heads. When they reached the right position, they stopped, focused their little magnet hands on Eve. A blast of siler energy poured from them and into Eve. She was hit once, twice, three times with the same attack, face pained.

"C'mon Eve, I know you can do it!" Eve heard my shout and trembled. One second she was paralyzed, the static that rippled over her body sparked and vanished. She jumped out of the way, dodging the last magnet bomb. It all happened so quick that the magneton was readying another when it was hit dead-on with a flame charge. Like I had guessed, the magneton's ability was sturdy. Eve jumped out of the way, balanced on one leg, and took a breather.

"I've never seen a pokemon shed paralysis so quickly," Wattson said. "That pokemon must love you like something else, Mew." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Go ahead and use quick attack. I dare you."

Oh great, mind games. His pokemon was too exhausted to cause any more physical damage to Eve. It was starting to fall apart at the one health point it had left. It's accuracy would be terrible if it tried to take Eve down. Surely now would be a good time to use quick attack?

No. His aim wasn't to take me down, but to cripple me for his last pokemon. Magneton couldn't harm me anymore. But it could paralyze me. Thunder wave had a one-hundred percent accuracy. I had to find a way to finish it without getting too close. Combusken knew double kick, flame charge, quick attack, and peck. There was nothing there I could use. Wattson stood there, waiting.

"Busken," my pokemon said in my direction. I lifted my head at her. She was looking at me with an intense gaze on her face. At first I thought she was telling me she could overcome paralysis again, but that wasn't it. She paused, thinking, then held up her hands, revealing all her claws. I was confused until she put them up one at a time. Six? Six what? Then she winked.

She knew six moves.

I smiled. Red had taught her something, then. Pokemon don't usually know more than four moves, but somehow, mine knew six. I nodded at her and she turned back around, balanced on one leg. Wattson, for the first time, looked confused. I wasn't sure what Eve was planning either, so I pointed to the Magneton.

"Go! Eve!"

"Combusken!" she replied, planting her other foot in the ground. Then, taking the biggest breath her lungs could hold, she exhaled a magnificent flamethrower at her foe. Wattson's pokemon freaked and tried to paralyze her, but the static was caught in the flames. The pokemon was wiped out without a problem. When it clattered to the dirt, hit so hard that all three magnemites broke loose and fell apart entirely. Wattson put a hand on his head.

"What…? Why didn't you use that move earlier?" Thank god. He didn't know Eve knew more than four moves. I guess he hadn't seen her use peck. I wasn't too sure if it was against league rules to have a pokemon know more than 4 moves. It was impossible, but hopefully not against the rules. "Nonetheless, let's keep this going." He threw out his last pokeball.

It was a manectric. A fully healed manectric, too. This pokemon was bound to be the strongest if he sent it out last. I was about to make a move, but Wattson held up his hand.

"What? Another handicap?" I was getting sick of it. I was getting close to winning. What else could he pull now?

"Last one," he promised. "Now, I can't usually use these in trainer matches unless it's a good ol' rematch, but I think the time calls for it." He rolled up his right sleeve. On his wrist was some sort of bulky metal contraption. It was glowing brightly. Steven stepped off the bike so quickly that I flinched, thinking he was going to attack Wattson.

"Give her a break, Wattson!" he shouted. "Enough is enough!"

"You should have more faith in your girlfriend," Watson said, bringing the device up in front of his face. Electricity started flowing off of Manectric in pulsing waves. Ok, I didn't know what was going on, but I already didn't like it. "She has potential. I didn't think she'd pass electrode's self destruct." Brendan put a hand on Steven's shoulder. The champion turned to him.

Under his breath so I couldn't hear, he whispered to the champion. "The pokemon's not a normal combusken, Champ. Her other pokemon couldn't take the heat, but this one can. Why do you think the thing broke the masterball it's in?" Steven looked ready to ask more questions, but he shrugged off his hand and looked back at the battle.

Wattson tapped the only button on the device. His pokemon started glowing. A harsh wind started picking up. Eve jumped back right by my feet. I put a hand on her, watching with wide eyes as a ball of purple energy consumed the electric pokemon. The wind got harsher, and I dropped to a knee to shield Eve. The ball exploded, one last wind knocking the both of us onto our backs, and a new pokemon emerged. No, it wasn't a new pokemon. The manectric had somehow evolved. It looked like it was wearing sharp, pointed yellow armor. It was also tingling with energy, like it had been empowered. It growled at Eve. She flinched, slightly afraid. Wow, this thing even changed abilities.

"Mega evolution," Wattson explained. "A rare form of evolution in which a fully evolved pokemon evolves again inside battle. The pokemon is even more powerful than it was before. When it was discovered in Kalos, I found a key stone in New Mauville, and a Manectricite along the way. The end result, this fabulous combination!"

That's what it was? I pulled out the two marble-looking stones I had been given by Brendan for Christmas. A blazikenite and a galladite. I could mega evolve two of my pokemon if they were fully evolved. Wait, no I couldn't. I don't have that weird bracelet thing. A key stone. Where could I get that?

"Busken," Eve said, gathering my attention. I looked up at her. She was at half health. It was all or nothing for this pokemon. She told me she had six moves, but I had no idea what the sixth move was. From the look of her eyes, however, it was a good one.

"Right," I said. "Eve, go! Use flamethrower!" She did as told, but the manectric was quick. He dodged it before it had even come from her mouth, hitting her with a quick attack. "Make some distance, get as far away from him as you can!" Eve, slightly shocked by the hit from the mega pokemon, retreated. The manectric bared his teeth in fierce challenge. Eve returned the gesture by slicing the air with her claws. Though it was a tough comeback, her tremble was noticeable. Great, his intimidate was hindering her attack.

"Manectric, use electric terrain!" Eve braced herself for impact at Wattson's words, but his pokemon did not make a move to attack. Instead, he shed the static clinging to his body and allowed it to dance around the grass. It did not settle, just stuck there, bouncing from blade to blade like it was grease on a frying pan.

Electric terrain was a new move discovered. All I knew is that it increased electric type moves, which was even worse. He was setting up the battle to be won just by changing the stats of his and my pokemon. It was like he wasn't facing a challenger, but a real opponent. He was pulling all the stops to make sure he won this battle. It made me angry, but I had accepted Wattson's badge from Red without questioning it. It was possible I deserved this. Now I was scared to think what Brawly would do if he found out I had used Red's espeon. Man, Red sure caused me a ton of trouble.

I shook my head. I needed to focus on the matter at hand.

"Losing your head a bit, Mew?" Wattson asked. "Gym leaders aren't picked just because they like a certain type of pokemon. They're picked because they're natural born battlers!" He held his hand to the sky. "I'm not losing to you, not if you're who I think you are! Manectric, discharge!" The pokemon was so quick that Eve had to avoid it herself before I could call it out.

"I'm not who you think I am!" I shouted. "I'm nothing like you think I am, Wattson! Eve, flamethrower, don't stop until it hits!" Eve did as told. The pokemon tried to avoid it by running around my pokemon, but everywhere she lit the fire, the pokemon stepped. Soon the electric dog had to jump far away to put out the fires that had gathered on her fur, growling again. "Don't let it affect you Eve, it's just a pokemon!" Eve crossed her chest with her claws, just as intimidating as the pokemon. "Now, quick attack! Follow it up with a close quarters double kick!"

Eve jumped forward, hitting the manectric in the side with her claws for the first hit. The pokemon tried to dart from her grasp, but Eve held on and let it carry her halfway across the field. When she was upright on the side of the pokemon, she unleashed an endless array of double kicks. Mega Manectric was too big and bulky to pull or bite her off, so the whole field turned into a blur of yellow, blue, and orange as he ran in impossibly fast circles. I could hear the startled howls of Wattsons' pokemon in the blur. Eve's kicks were getting weaker and weaker. She was being thrown off by centripetal force. That gave me an idea.

"Let's play some pong!" I couldn't see if she had heard me or not, but the blurs separated. I saw the orange blur I assumed was Eve jump off. The foe's pokemon was running around so fast that every time Eve tried to escape the circle, Manectric would zip across and stop her. But I didn't want her to escape from the endless ring that was being created. No, instead she bounced from every side of the circle, double kicking the pokemon back, forth, left, right, and all over again in a non-stop cycle of pain. Manectric was good at speed, but it sure as hell wasn't that good at stopping.

"That's it!" Wattson said, stomping his foot like a kid throwing a temper tantrum. "Thunder! Shock that pokemon back to its' pokeball!"

"Eve, blast yourself out of there with your flamethrower!" Right when the thunder clouds started gathering, Eve aimed her breath of fire down at the center of the circle she was trapped in. The force of it propelled Eve right into the air, where she stopped the flow and kicked off from the flames. The tip of her head feather brushed the lightning bolt, shocking her. She landed on top of the archway that lead to Mauville on the verge of fainting.

The lightning struck the ground, intensifying the crater and burning the grass, making the Earth around us bare of greenery. Nearby trees splintered and sparked at the sudden burst of power. In there was any pokemon under the dirt, they were probably fairly surprised. Good thing there were no trainers nearby, or else they would've had a nasty shock run through their system. I was able to nullify the shock with protect while the dust settled, but the static in the air tickled us. Wattson had come in rubber boots, so he was enjoying the view from a seat of safety. He was smiling until he saw the condition of his pokemon.

Mega Manectric was panting and covered in footprints. He dropped to his stomach, legs tucked to his sides. There was no doubt he was one move away from fainting. Both our pokemon were ready to faint. Mine was so tired that when she jumped down from the arch, she dropped to her stomach, panting. When she heard her foe standing, she forced herself to do the same.

"Looks like it all comes down to speed then," Wattson said. "I suppose we know just from common knowledge which of our pokemon are faster. Quick attack against quick attack, right? Who will hit first?" The sudden weight of losing hit me. That was, until Eve looked back at me and held up a single claw.

She was ready to win.

"I trust you, Eve," I said. "Do what you need. The rest is up to you." I stood back and met eyes with Wattson. The look on his face was utterly surprised.

"You're leaving your pokemon to make decisions on her own?" he asked. "I've never heard of a trainer doing such a thing, not from this region at the least."

"Pokemon aren't mindless," I said. "Not all of them need to be told what to do."

"Combusken," Eve agree, standing taller.

"Ectric," her foe growled, standing on wobbling legs.

"Well then, I'll do the honors." He paused to take a breath. "Manectric, quick attack." I wanted to close my eyes and wait for it to end already, but I had to watch. I had to see what happened. I clenched my fists and stopped blinking to watch. Eve did not jump out and use quick attack. Instead, she stood her ground and prepare for the move. No, she didn't prepare.

She braced herself.

The move struck her dead on, a critical hit. It should;ve fainted her, but it didn't. She was left with one single health point. The move she had kept in store was perfect for this battle.

She used endure.

Within that split second after the attack, she struck out with her own quick attack, ending the battle for Manectric. He howled to the sky, stumbling on all fours before collapsing under his own weight. His eyes started spinning, utterly exhausted. Wattson slowly brought his hands over his mouth in complete disbelief.

"How?" he asked. "I've been a trainer for years! You couldn't be more experienced than me!" Then he paused. A smile slowly crept up his face. He put his hands on his hips, leaned back, and started laughing heartfully. Eve and I blinked in confusion. Had he lost it? Noi, he was just amazed. Amazed and happy at the same time. "I suppose if you can beat me like this, then you definitely could've beat me in a normal challenger match. You're one marvelous trainer!"

I sighed. Thank goodness. He didn't seem to notice Eve's six moves. Steven and Brendan clapped. I returned Eve and stepped up to them. Steven hugged me while Brendan pat me on the back. They seemed more than relieved.

"Good job," Steven said softly, running his hands up and down my back. "You did great."

"Thanks," I whispered, hugging him back. Wattson approached us as soon as his pokemon returned to the ball.

"You're quite amazing," he said. "I guess I have no choice but to let you keep the badge. Do me a favor and don't lose. Makes me look like a newbie." I looked to him and nodded.

"I think I can do that."

"Where are you headed next?"

"To battle my dad in Petalburg." He paused, confused. "He's the new Petalburg gym leader." Wattson's mouth made an O.

"I can only imagine how excited he'll be to battle his daughter." I laughed nervously. The looks on Brendan's and Steven's face turned concerned at the very thought Oblivious, Wattson shook my hand firmly. "Stay out of trouble. No more false badges from friends."

"I can do that, sir."

"Good." Then, without so much as a goodbye, he turned and started off towards Mauville city. I looked to my friends.

"Six moves," Steven stated. He had paid good attention to the battle. Eve's master ball in my hand trembled slightly, as if she was agreeing with what he had said. "Believe it or not, but some pokemon can learn more than four moves. I've never seen it before, however. It's extremely rare."

"How does it happen?" I asked.

"Exceedingly strong pokemon," Brendan answered for him. "Pokemon that love their trainers with such intensity that they carry the burden of having to remember more moves. It's hard for them, trust me." To think that Eve loved me that much already made me warm inside. I wondered what she'd look like as mega blaziken. "C'mon, let's head back on the road."

All three of us turned back toward Mauville. We took one step and stopped.

Because hovering in front of us was Latios and Latias.

Mew Received A Gym Badge!

A Wild Latios And Latias Appeared!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	43. Southern Island: A Place To Be Tested!

Chapter 43

The blue and red pokemon were hovering silent with judging eyes narrowed. How long had they been there? Had they seen the whole battle? Latias looked to her brother and began to whisper. Latios grumbled in response before delicately approaching me. Brendan and Steven leaned forward, but the blue pokemon bared his teeth. Psychic energy started pulsing around him, giving off somewhat of a warning. The two boys exchanged glances before stepping backwards, hands in the air. Only when they were far enough away did the pokemon fully approach me. His eyes were like sapphires.

"You are Mew," he said in a soft yet powerful voice. It was not a question but a statement that he wanted me to confirm. I nodded a few times, nervous. Jirachi had told multiple legendaries of my existence, what were these two planning on doing with me? "Are you friend or foe to pokemon?"

"F-friend to both human and pokemon," I answered shakily. Latios pondered my words for a minute before looking back at his sister. She approached. Her voice was much more delicate, caring, and soft.

"You've cause a lot of trouble," she scolded. "Usually we don't feel such unease from pokemon nor human. Why is it when they're combined, the end result is an extremely unsafe creation?" I didn't quite know if she was insulting me by how she called me a 'creation,' but I took it with a grain of salt. "There is a lot of unnatural occurrences in Hoenn as of late. We believe you to be the cause of a few of them."

"What occurrences?" I asked. The two exchanged heavy looks.

"The weather grows either too hot or too wet," Latios explained.

"The sea is restless and the land is trembling," Latias added.

"And we believe that the blue orb and red orb residing in you are some of it," they finished in unison. "You are bound by fate to stop what has been started. For that, you'll need protection." Latias pulled up in front of me, wing tilted so I could scale it.

"W-wait-" Steven started, stepping forward. Latios was in front of him, eyes ignited in icy fire.

"This is not your destiny, mortal," he warned. "Being a lover of stones and history, you must know that the red and blue orbs were created to help or hinder the pokemon of land and sea. If Mew does not receive the needed protection, the orbs will consume her and leave us no hope." He hovered away slightly. "She will return soon. Wait within the courtyard of Mauville. We will return when it is free of onlookers."

Steven looked like he wanted to protest, and in turn he met my eyes to show me he was about to. He stopped. The look on my face was serious, stern. I couldn't let him do something stupid in front of powerful legendaries like these two. I could manage myself. There was nothing for him to do but let me go.

"Alright," Steven said softly. His eyes pleaded for me to stay, but I averted my gaze and climbed atop Latias. She shuffled slightly, positioning me to fit her comfort. I wanted to wave goodbye, but my steed took off towards the sky at the speed of sound, nearly throwing me off. I pressed myself against her back, eyes watering at the sheer speed we traveled at. Arms wrapped around her neck, I prepared myself for whatever they had in store.

Latios pulled up beside me, exhilarated by the feel of wind rushing over him. He flipped around in the air, squealing in delight. He sped ahead of us and Latias rocketed forward to do the same. By now the entire region was visible below us. I could see from one end of it to the next, some sights only obscured by thicker clouds. I was so taken aback by the beauty of Mt. Chimney, the wide ocean, and the indescribable cities, forests, and fields below that I didn't notice that we were fast losing altitude. My steed arched downwards in a spiral, throwing my stomach in the gutters. I covered my mouth and closed my eyes. In return she slowed and eased on the brakes.

I opened my eyes. We were descending into a field that was impossible to get to by mere walking or climbing because of the impossibly high cliffs on each edge. Water poured on the inside of these jagged peaks, spilling into a pool that ringed around a deserted island. Latias hovered towards one end of the puny island, tilting her body to better the way I unsaddled. I stepped off and admired where I was. There were only a few trees here, but they grew large and wide, roots so large they dangled over the edge of the ground and dipped their tips into the crystal clear water. I could see the colorful rocks at the bottom. They were so bright and vibrant I thought they were those fake rocks you put in an aquarium.

"Approach," Latios said, attracting my attention. He was hovering in front of the gap between two of the larger oaks. I walked up to him and Latias floated beside him, her ruby eyes startling piercing. "As you have guessed, Jirachi has informed us of you. The other legends are not too fond of the news. We want you to travel safe."

"So you're helping me." They bowed their head in unison. "Why aren't you attacking me like you're saying the others will?"

"The three of us are psychic types. It's easy to tell whose mind is set on evil and whose is not." Latias paused. "We are also fond of your other half." My shoulders relaxed slightly. "Follow us, we need to give you your weapon." They started across the grass, me behind them. It wasn't too far to where we needed, there wasn't much land to really walk across. Or hover, whatever.

As soon as we passed the trees, the two of them parted to reveal an ancient-looking pedestal. On it was one of the bracelets that Wattson had used to mega evolve his pokemon. This one looked unused and new despite probably being set there for quite some time.

"In addition to the key stone here," Latios explained, "you can call on us in times of need. We do not take kindly to simple favors or manageable situations. Call our names when you need us, and we will come." I took the bracelet and slipped it on. It tightened once set in place. I flexed my fingers, unadapted to the new feel. "Do well with this region, Mewthree. Us pokemon do not often call upon the humans for help, but when we do, it is only when there is no other option. We depend on you. Do not fail us."

"I won't," I vowed. They glanced at each other, nodded, then looked back at me. It was if they were seeing how well I coped with the situation.

I seemed to pass with an average score.

Mew Received The Key Stone!

Latios And Latias Now Come When Needed!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	44. A Spheal For Me?

Chapter 44

On the way back to Mauville City, I rode on Latias. She went slower than Latios but liked to make up for it with more twists, barrel rolls, and sudden bursts of speed. I had to grab on tighter to make sure I didn't fall off. There was a slight guarantee they would catch me if I fell, but it was nice to be safe.

When the three of us were high in the sky, I looked back towards the sea where the abandoned ship had sunk. There were several islands that couldn't be reached by swimming or with regular flying pokemon. They were marked by glowing red orbs above them. Some were large, others were small, but the majority seemed to shimmer and quiver from being stared at. I blinked, and some of the smaller islands shifted spots.

"Mirage islands," Latias explained in her soft voice somehow loud enough over the soaring winds. "They come and go as they please. Only Latios and I can hope to reach them. It'd be quite an adventure to visit them, if you'd like sometime."

"Can you bring Steven and Brendan?" She thought about it.

"I do not see any harm in it. Not until later, however. This journey has tired me enough."

"I understand." I faced the sinking sun. "Some of the islands don't move. Is there a reason?"

"Those are not mirage islands, Mew." Latios said, pulling up beside us. "There are legendaries that sometimes visit from other regions. They come here and reside in different areas, from islands to caverns to forests. There are certain ways to can reach them. Some require certain pokemon to travel with you. Others need a more powerful or friendly team. Either way, it is not at all easy to reach them, let alone catch them. You are not in fighting shape for any of them. Not yet."

"That's amazing," I whispered. Just thinking about seeing those legendary pokemon made me quiver in anticipation. I wanted to catch them, all of them. You know, maybe I could even battle them myself. I was half pokemon, anyways. There's a good chance it would be easier to whittle down their health that way.

Like before, I wasn't expecting Latias to dive downwards towards the Earth at breakneck speed. It was tantalizingly scary, but there was a certain thrill that made it worth while, the wind through my hair, my clothes flapping in the wind, and the overall sight of dropping altitude at alarming rates made my heart pound and my stomach twist. It felt amazing. When we started slowing, I felt like I was floating away from them. I clasped tighter and closed my eyes.

We touched down right where Wattson and I had battled. Brendan and Steven were waiting on the grass and stood up when we approached. Steven helped me off Latias. As soon as my legs touched the ground, I turned bowlegged. Steven caught me and started carrying me like a princess. I hugged onto him, burying my face in his shirt.

"Thank you," he said to the Eon duo. They hovered for a few seconds before bobbing their heads once at him. Without a second thought, they took to the skies. I could only follow them with my eyes for a few seconds before they vanished behind the heavy white clouds.

"What did they say?" Brendan asked. I gathered my thoughts.

"They told me that legendary pokemon from other regions visit here, too," I started. "That some might take an interest in me, but others won't. There are a few they told me to be on the lookout for. They also said because of the red orb and blue orb in my chest I'll have to get ready for whatever comes next. Oh, and this." I showed them the key stone they had given me. The two of them looked fairly surprised.

"They gave you that?" Steven took ahold of my wrist and started to scan over it with his eyes. "It's nothing like the key stone Wattson had. This one is built to better." He tried to open a panel on the side, but when he put his finger under it to lift the flap, but it resisted. It snapped down on his fingers, pinching him. He pulled back, surprised. The machine rearranged itself like a robot rubix cube and tightened around my wrist. Brendan blinked in surprise.

"Well, it's definitely not human made, I can tell you that." He looked at the sky. "Those two probably had a smart pokemon build it. Probably an alakazam or something." He walked past us, urging the two of us on the road. We entered Mauville city and turned right, where we began towards the exit that led south. Steven took a hold of my hand and followed him.

The city of Mauville was teeming with people. I guess there was a few people left over from the New Year celebration. Groups of people traveled on foot or bikes, some even were using the crowd as obstacles courses. They circled around us, barely able to avoid knocking us over. When the group passed, laughing in obvious glee, the three of us were finally at the gate. We hadn't stayed inside for too long, but the sun still blinded me. We stepped back out into the sun, squinting, and started down the path again. Halfway to the tall grass, Brendan turned left.

"We'll take the bike path," he said, pointing to the building a few bikers were entering without slowing. There was no door on the entrance, just an open portal. Brendan pulled out his bike and Steven did the same. I hopped on the back behind Steven and held on with my arms wrapped around his waist. He took off at a slow pace so he didn't hit the sides to the portal when following Brendan inside. There was a checkpoint where a few ladies made sure everyone was on their bike before entering, and once we were cleared, it was back out into the sun. Brendan looked towards us. "There's a guy who times how quick you go down the course." He pointed towards the beginning of bicycle road. "You want to see who gets the better time?"

"I take it you want to go first?" Steven questioned. My rival hopped onto his bike.

"You know me so well." He spun the bike around and rocketed off the dirt and onto cycling road, where he took a sharp U turn and blasted down the hot metal road, hollering in delight. Steven checked to make sure I was on and started off as well. Because we were on an acro bike, we weren't near as fast, but it was much easier to handle. The first U turn we took was easy. Avoiding people on bikes on the road was slightly harder, however. When we got past the first two bicyclists we almost collided with two others. We did manage to reach the end without any collisions, however. When we skidded past the finish line, Brendan started clapping.

"14.7!" a guy read from the sidelines. "It's ok, considering you didn't get any collisions, but still needs some work." He gestured his stopwatch towards Brendan. "He did it in eight seconds. I have no idea how, but he did it. No collisions, either. This guy is a legend now." My rival smiled.

"All in a days work." He repositioned himself on his bike. "We should be about to Odale. We just have to cross the water over there," he added, nodding towards a body a water a short bike ride away, "and then we can see your dad."

Just hearing him mention Norman made my skin crawl I wasn't quite ready for the wrath my dad had caged up for a while now. Was he going to be as serious about battling as Wattson? I hoped not. Eve barely made it out without fainting, and we had to cheat to get that far. Dad didn't have pokemon that could mega evolve, either. while Brendan led Steven and I to the body of water, I started on my battle strategy.

He only had three pokemon. I only knew of his vigoroth, which he refused to evolve because he loved how it was already. That's where it got complex. He was always away training to make the cut for gym leader, so I never got the chance to see his other two pokemon. They had to be normal types, though. That was sort of the gym theme.

"Steven," I said, leaning into him a little bit more.

"Can't tell you your fathers' pokemon," he said with a smile. "I figured you'd ask. I can't let anyone know anything before a battle, as much as I like them or not." I made a pouty face. "Oh, don't give me that. You're lucky I don't take away the Dewford badge, which you will have to get the right way if you want to battle me." I smiled.

"But I already know two of your pokemon."

"I didn't say anything about myself," he said with a smile. "Trust me, those two are the only ones you are going to see. It'll be by mistake if you see any of the others." We stopped where the trail ended in a slightly deep pool of water. "Tell me you have the HM for surf."

"I'm pretty sure I don't need it," I said honestly. "I'm part pokemon. I can learn any move I want, so why not give it a shot? Plus, I can swim just fine."

"Not for you," he whispered. "I just don't want to a hitch a ride with-"

"You two ready to go?" Brendan stepped up to us, patting Steven hard on the back. "Mew can get there by herself. I'm sure we can both get on marshtomp. You'll have to ride on my shoulders, though." Steven cleared his expression before turning to him.

"Sure. I suppose that can be done." I tried not to laugh. After we put away our bikes, the three of us stepped up to the water. It was so clear that we could see all our reflections flawlessly. The waves was the only nuisance about seeing to the bottom. Wow, this looked pretty deep, too. I tested the water. Wow, it was pretty warm.

"Are you just going to jump in with your clothes on?" Brendan asked me. "I'm pretty sure your dad doesn't want to battle you soaking wet." He read my expression of complete epiphany. "Oh, I forgot. You still have the swimsuit from Lavaridge, don't you?"

"I'll just go in my clothes," I insisted, backing away. He opened his mouth to protest, but I unclipped my belt with the mysterious egg in it, handed it to Steve, and jumped head first into the water, leaving my shoes on the shore. The water was pleasantly cool and surprisingly clear. Even though I had stirred up some sand and dirt, I could see through it perfectly. I guess being part pokemon meant I didn't need goggles. That wasn't all: I could breathe under it too. I took a deep breath. It was like inhaling on a cold, windy day. But at the same time it was easy. I started up towards the surface, where a stricken-looking Steven was taking off his jacket, ready to jump in. When he saw me, he paused. "I'm fine," I insisted. "I can breathe underwater."

"That's pretty cool," Brendan said, throwing his pokeball in the air. Marshtomp appeared and landed in the water, belching in joy. As soon as the ball returned to him, my rival clipped the ball back on his belt. "By the way, are we going to tell your father about the whole part-pokemon thing?"

"No." I couldn't have said it quicker. "That is to not be said or even thought of. Dad is too protective. He'll freak out and want me home for the rest of eternity."

"Wouldn't blame him. You are pretty reckless." Without further explaining, he stepped onto his pokemon, casting a beckoning look to Steven. The champion coolly slipped his jacket back on and stepped up to the bank. He stepped onto the pokemon before it slowly started drifting across the water. Marshtomps' head was under the water, bubbling in delight. It hadn't been in the water for some while, so it was trying to get a good fill before being trapped in a ball again. However strong and swift it was by itself, with two people on his back, the water pokemon was painfully slow. Steven noticed and sighed.

"I take it this will take a long while?" Brendan slapped him on the back, nearly sending him tumbling into the water.

"It'll be long only if you make it long," he said with a wide grin. "Tell me, how ya been?" Steven looked to me for help, but I was already beneath the waves. At the pace they were going, it would take a good half hour or so to cross this tiny straight of water. We could see it from there, after all. I dropped to the bottom of the pool and saw that this pool had sharp rocks on the bottom. Next time, I'd consider looking before jumping in. These rocks were oddly colorful, however. Reds, purples, oranges, even greens. I picked a few up. Oh my. Some of these were evolution stones. Sun stones, moon stones, leaf, thunder, fire, lightning, everything was down here. Maybe Steven would like a few?

I started picking up one of each stone I could find, tucking them into the pockets on my shorts. They managed to fit quite a few before I had to stop. There was still room, but being trapped underwater with heavy weights in my pockets wouldn't be a good idea, gills or not. I was about to surface when I saw that one of the stones was perfectly round, sort of like a ball. It was big too, maybe the size of a smaller boulder. I swam up to it and poked it. It wasn't hard at all, it was squishy and felt soft. Wait, it had fur?

The ball squirmed. I withdrew, surprised. It squirmed again, this time making a squealing noise. It was a pokemon. And it was terribly stuck in the mounds of rocks and stones. From the looks of it, it had been there a while. It wriggled again, calling out for help.

"Hang on," I said from under the waves. I grabbed it by the sides and started yanking, but the poor pokemon screeched in obvious pain. I released it and began to dig around it, dislodging it piece by piece. It wriggled and squirmed the whole while to loosen some of the rocks. It was about halfway out when one of the larger rocks was removed from the top of it. The pokemon yanked free and began to spin uncontrollably backwards. It took a short while, but she managed to right herself before getting sick.

The spheal saw me and blinked. Oh, the poor thing was all cut up from the rocks. It was lacking some of its round shape from starvation. I didn't even need to ask the little fella if she wanted to be helped. She swam up to me and nudged my chin, humming in delight. I wrapped a gentle arm around her and started towards the surface. When we had both our heads out of the water, the two boys were quite a ways ahead. Marshtomp must've picked up the pace a few notches. The two of us swam up to them right when they were stepping off onto the shore. Brendan caught sight of me first.

"Whatcha got there?" I lifted Spheal onto the grass, seeing how she was far too weak to do it herself. She sighed and relaxed on the warm sand. "A spheal? What's that pokemon doin here?" Steven caught sight of it.

"Wow," he said, amazed. "A spheal this far from Lilycove? That's rare." He knelt down to it but the pokemon squeaked and rolled towards me just to cower behind my legs. She was shivering in fear at the sight of the two boys. I knelt down and brushed her soft, peachy fur so it flowed the right way. She relaxed almost immediately and huddled closer, humming. "That's… not how most spheal act around humans."

"They're not compassionate?" I asked.

"No," Brendan answered. "They normally don't run away from trainers. They're the kindest, most welcoming pokemon around." His eyebrows came together. "Where did you find her?"

"She was stuck in the stones under the water." I picked her up into my arms. "She's been there for a while, from the looks of it." Steven and Brendan looked at each other with sad expressions on their kissers. "What? Is there something wrong with her?"

"No," Steven said. "It's nothing wrong with her. It's who used to own her." Brendan nodded.

"A spheal that can't bring itself to be touched by some people are often results of abusive trainers." He brought his hand up to pet the pokemon, but it shrunk away, squealing loudly. Brendan stepped back. The look of hurt in his eyes was more prevalent than ever before. "It looks like her past trainer was a man. She must've escaped by digging herself in those rocks so she wouldn't be found. Then she must've waited too long and got stuck." I held her a little closer.

"Is that right?" I whispered to her. She looked up to me with teary eyes. She didn't say anything, just stared. My heart shattered. Who would make a pokemon run away so desperately? The thought of hitting my own pokemon repulsed me. "Then it's settled. We'll get you to the pokemon center and heal you up."

"Sphea…?" she asked, confirming if I was telling the truth. I nodded.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere until you're fed and ready to travel." She was so happy she curled up in my arms and hummed. She was trembling in sudden joy.

"You know how to make pokemon happy," Brendan observed. "Maybe now that you've come to terms with being mewthree, you can bond with pokemon easier. I highly doubt that spheal would be that kind to anyone after that, even if they saved her."

"Well, she won't be hurt while I'm here." I took off my jacket and wrapped her up in it. She was so tiny compared to other spheals that it wrapped around her just fine. I held her close to my chest and rubbed her back. She started to fall asleep. "Go to sleep. You're safe now." She didn't hesitate.

"You got a big heart for a girl that's been attacked by these creatures all your life," Steven observed. "What made you change?"

"Eve," I said without hesitation. "She showed me there were pokemon that could be nothing but kind, just like her." I pat the spheal on the head. "Pokemon like this. Oh, that reminds me. Steven." I reached into my pocket and held out a handful of stones. Some of the stray ones I didn't grab fell out of my pocket and on the grass. "You like stones, right? I found a few."

"A few?" Steven's face lit up. "They're amazing! Look at all these evolution rocks!" He took the ones from my hand and gathered the few around my feet. His face was actually blushing from the happiness. He looked me in the eyes and whispered, "Thanks." I smiled back.

"Are you two coming?" Brendan called. He had already taken off down the path and was almost to Odale. "Nights' falling! If we want to make it to Petalburg, let's book it there now!" Steven already had his stones put away and his bike out by the time he finished talking. He handed me my pack, which I check to make sure the egg was safe before hopping on. Spheal shifted, but I held her close.

"Trust me," I whispered so Steven couldn't hear as he prepared to take off. "He's a great guy. You'll like him soon enough." Her drowsy eyes blinked at me. She smiled slightly, then fell asleep. I covered her head with the jacket so the dipping sun didn't burn her head, and we started off.

I didn't notice, but as I was slipping on my fanny pack, the egg in it shifted.

Spheal Joined The Team!

The Egg Is Looking More Ready To Hatch!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	45. Admins of Each Team Stop By!

Chapter 45

The sun had just dipped beneath the horizon when we reached Petalburg. the night was still and filled with the sound of bug pokemon chirping away. The stars were as bright and plentiful as ever and the air, like it had been before, was filled with the sweet scent of the nearby ocean. I could see illumise and volbeat flying around in the sky, their bright lights illuminating the darkness. The city was quiet and empty, the only signs of life being the lights that shone in every window. The pokemon center was the brightest. As we entered, Nurse Joy greeted us.

"Welcome, you three." She saw the spheal in my arms. Her hand went to her mouth. "Oh my…"

"We found her stuck in the water north of Odale," I said, gently placing the ice pokemon on the counter. "She ran away from an abusive trainer. I was wondering if you could heal her up." The nurse nodded.

"Of course." She reached forward and gently lifted the pokemon into her arms, handing me the jacket I had used to cover her. The pokemon looked scared at first, but Nurse Joy rubbed under her chin to calm her before taking her back to heal the pokemon that weren't in pokeballs. I watched with observant eyes.

"You are already treating the pokemon like it's your child," Brendan observed, pulling out his pokeballs to be healed when she was done. "Maybe you should start training it." I opened my mouth to reply, but Eve, Plum, and Sinbad emerged from their containers to jumps up on the counter. They began to stare at me.

"What?" I asked, meeting their eyes in turn.

"Kirl," Plum started. It was obvious she was begging for something.

"You want her to join the team," I guessed. The three of them nodded. Eve dropped down onto the counter, legs hanging off the edge. She was in deep thought. When she had finished, she looked up to me and nodded. Sinbad leaned against the pokeball statue that was on the corner of the counter, chewing mindlessly on a blade of grass. He just shrugged when I looked to him. "I guess I could ask her to join the team."

"Ahh!" Nurse Joy's scream was followed by a shatter, like an object had fallen off. Steven and Brendan flinched, surprised. By the time they realized something had gone wrong, I had already jumped over the counter. Sinbad grabbed onto my shirt and swung himself up onto my shoulder. I darted into the back room.

Nurse Joy was on the floor, unconscious. Several PC's had been knocked onto the floor, sparking. I unplugged every one that posed a threat of shocking someone and looked around. Spheal. Where was Spheal?

There was a back entrance to the pokecenter. I jumped across the mess of PC's towards it. Right when the door came into view around the corner, I realized it had been left open slightly. Sinbad kicked it open when I charged forward, eyes determined. The two of us ran out into the cold air. There, standing at the edge of one of Petalburgs pools, was Courtney of Team Magma. In her hands he held Spheal in a painful grip. The pokemon was yowling and squirming to free herself.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I shouted, taking a step forward. Courtney held up her hand in a gesture to stop. I was forced to obey. She blew a bubble, eyes bored. As soon as it popped and returned to her mouth, the hand signal to stop turned into an idle wave.

"Hello." Her voice was plain. "I have not seen you… in a while." She tilted her head, flicking Spheal to keep quiet. the water pokemon whimpered and then went silent. "In Slateport… you nearly damaged my beautiful face. I have not forgotten."

"If you don't give me my pokemon back, I'll damage more than just your face." I balled my fists. "Give her back." I had been so focused on her that I didn't notice another Team Magma goon approach from the right. It was another one of the admins, the fat one that had kept Brendan and Steven in order during the attack in Slateport's contest hall. He was just as big and round as before, his once grim expression now filled with pleasant surprise. He took Spheal from Courtney and held it by the tail in the air. She started crying in his grip. Sinbad growled, ready to leap.

"Control your mutt," the heavy admin commanded. "We're just here to talk." He did an awkward bow at the waist. "I'm Tabitha. We didn't formally meet last time. Luckily we saw your little TV broadcast or we wouldn't have been able to find you after you gave us the slip in Fallarbor."

"I don't care," I snapped. "What do you want?"

"Maxie and Archie… they're being dumb." Courtney rested her fist on her hip and bent her left knee. "They said they don't need the meteorite… heh… but we want it. It'd be… cool to have."

"Fork it over and you can have your pokemon," Tabitha said. "Simple as that."

"Not that simple." The unknown voice came from the shrubbery to the right. Two people stood: an impossibly gorgeous woman that must've been the one who spoke and an tall, thickly built man whose Team Aqua uniform stretched tautly over his rippling muscles. He adjusted the rope belt that held his pants in place and stepped right over the bushes, so tall that he barely needed to lift his leg to scale it. The woman, dressed in a much more revealing Aqua uniform, adjusted her silky black hair and plucked a stray eyelash from the bottom of her eye. "You two are always bothering us. Stop taking our ideas and scram already. I don't want to have to kill your pokemon."

Courtney tilted her head, purple locks bouncing. She blew a bubble with her face just as expressionless as before, popped it, and snorted. "Heh… you think you're so tough because water beats ground and fire types… heh… if only you were as smart as you were ugly."

"Shut it," the muscular admin interrupted. He turned to me. "So you're Mew, huh? What a weird name. I like it." He held a hand out to me. "I'm Matt." Instead of taking his hand, I just stared. He smiled awkwardly and withdrew. "No need to be like that, we're not the one with your spheal." He turned to his female partner in crime. "Shelly, get her pokemon back if you could."

"I'm not your inferior," she said, brushing off a leaf that had caught on her thigh, "but I suppose we can strike a deal." She met my eyes. Her sapphire gaze was harsh. "Give me the meteorite and I'll get your pokemon back. How's that sound, cutie?"

"I don't need help from either of you thugs."

"Nuz," Sinbad agreed. I opened my mouth to say more, but two figures jumped from the pokecenter behind me. They passed by me so quickly that I stumbled, surprised. One grabbed Courtney around the waist and began to push her into the pond like a football star. Before she hit the water, swallowing her gum in surprise, the other figure darted forward and took Spheal from Tabitha while he was startled, running back to place the still beaten pokemon into my arms.

"Quick, the meteorite!" Shelly shouted. "Take it from her while you can!" Matt did as she said and reached forward to grab me, hands so large they looked to be the size of Spheal. I dropped to my knees and leaned over my pokemon teeth clenched in preparation for what was about to come. Instead of being grabbed, however, a third figure darted from behind me and kicked the Aqua admin right in the jaw. Matt's teeth clattered together before he fell to his knees. Blood trickled from between his fingers as he tried to keep his jaw in place.

"Brendan! Steven!" A smile began to make its' way on my face. Then I realized they weren't alone. The third hero grabbed me by the shoulder and lifted me to my feet, eyes furious. "D-Dad?"

"We'll talk when we're done." His voice was low. I swallowed. The thought of being taken by either Team Aqua or Team Magma was suddenly a little more appealing. Norman released me and charged right at Shelly, who was able to put her hands up just in time to block his punch. They stood there for a minute eyes blazing with hate, arms trembling for control. "You guys are the most annoying people on the planet," Dad whispered. Shelly smiled, revealing straight and pearly white teeth.

"Something tells me you're related to young Mew." They pushed apart. "Same purple eyes, strong willed, amazing love for pokemon. You're her father, I presume?" She smiled and put a finger to her lips in mockery. "And the gym leader of this town, too. How sweet."

Courtney surfaced from the pool, gasping for breath. Her pinkish purple hair was dangling, soaked, in front of her face. She pulled off her hood and separated the hair. Her eyes were wide in surprise. Tabitha jumped in and lifted her to her feet, recoiling slightly at the feel of water at his feet. As soon as she was righted, the hefty man pointed at me.

"There'll be no need for pokemon like those when we get rid of the sea," he swore. Matt grabbed Shelly, who hadn't broken eye contact with my dad and yanked her away.

"Leave them for now." His speech was slurred. I wouldn't be surprised if his jaw was slightly broken. "We'll get the meteorite when they're not snooping around." Then the two darted off towards Odale. Shelly snarled at my dad and I before forcing herself to follow. They weren't quite as elegant running away as they were with their entrance.

"I'm not forgetting this," Courtney said as Tabitha ushered her away. "The three bottles of shampoo I use every week aren't cheap! I'll have to use a ton more to get all this fish stink out of my beautiful locks!" They they, too began running away. They disappeared on the road to Norman was about to give chase but Steven put a hand on his shoulder. He turned towards the champion, ready to retort.

"Let them go, Norm. Fighting is a waste of time."

"Our time?" Norman used both hands to grab him by the collar and lift him in the air. "Tell me what else is a waste of time? Maybe working a kid who decided to date my daughter the instant I came here?" Steven did not look surprised or afraid. His eyes turned stern.

"Trust me, Norm. If I had known of this sooner, you'd be the first to know."

"Then why did it take you so long to say it?" Steven paused, confused. "That's right. I know you two have been together for a while. I didn't become a father on accident. I became a father because I knew I'd be darn good at it." He pulled the champion close to his face. "Not only did you help Mew sign up for the pokemon league with an unusual amount of effort, but the whole while you did it, you helped organize it in a Mew Zakuro wallet." He squinted at his boss. "That's a pretty damn cute gift for a cool guy like you to pick out."

"Dad, stop." I stood. He eyed me.

"And what do you think you're doing messing around with Team Aqua and Magma? I told you to stay out of trouble! You haven't listened to me in the slightest!" He set Steven on his feet and bent to my height. "You've been impossibly careless lately."

"And I'm proud of it." I stood up a little taller. Dad blinked at me, confused.

"What?"

"I said I'm proud of what I've done." I leaned into him. "And if you want me to come home, I'm not going to." Dad took a moment to think. Then, epiphany crossed his face. He started laughing. Steven and Brendan, stared in the background. They were just as confused as I was. "D-don't laugh," I said. "There's nothing to laugh at." He ruffled my hair.

"You think I'm going to take you home? That's hilarious, Mew. Why would I do that?" Everyone paused. There were several possible explanations we could give him, but for some reason, nobody felt the need to say them. "I'm here to make sure your boyfriend treats you right." He grabbed Steven again and lifted him in the air. "You hear me? I'm not as good at battling as you are, but I can punch pretty hard if you hurt her."

"I promise you, she's safe with me." Norman lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh? Then what's Team Magma and Team Aqua doing back in town after the three of you?" Everyone went silent. I had told the two of them to not mention anything about the whole mewthree thing, so they were at a complete loss of words. That left me to speak up.

"I'm helping Steven arrest the two teams," I half lied. "They've been causing a lot of trouble lately so I thought it'd be a good idea to intervene. I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd be worried." Norman stared at me hard, expecting me to break. I didn't. The thought of him figuring out I was a godchild was a lot scarier. The gym leader set Steven down and turned to me.

"That Nuzleaf's name is?" he asked.

"Oh, this is Sinbad." The grass pokemon shifted the blade of grass in his mouth and held out a small hand to Dad. They shook hands. "He lost his eye to a Magma grunt when I met him. He won't wear an eyepatch anymore."

"Makes him look more intimidating, I see what he's doing."

"Leaf," Sinbad thanked softly.

"And your other pokemon?" he asked. Plum and Eve jumped from their pokeballs. They landed right at Norman's feet. "Ah, both evolved. And they look so nice, too. You're taking good care of them." He bent down to see the spheal in my arms. She squealed and buried her face in my chest. "She looks a little banged up. And shy, too. Was she abused?"

"I think so." I pat her head.

"Well, if you want to battle me tomorrow, you'll need rest." He pat me on the back. "Go get some sleep. I know you'll only need two rooms." I blushed wildly. He turned to Steven. "And you. Remember, if you so much as make her cry, I'll break both your legs."

"Understood, Norman." Brendan stepped up beside him, eyes expectant.

"I'm guessing you're the third wheel," Norman said.

"I prefer the term 'helpful third partner.'" The gym leader snorted, then turned to me.

"Get some sleep, Mew. I'll see you in the morning." He leaned down to give me a hug. I hugged him back. It took him not long to let go, and when he did, he turned and stalked off towards the gym without looking back. He closed the door behind him and almost right away turned off the lights. I'm glad mom managed to talk to him before I got here.

It could've been much worse if it weren't for her, I guarantee.

Mew Arrived In Petalburg!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	46. Dad, Stop Embarrassing Me!

Chapter 46

It was a little awkward walking back into the pokecenter after that, but after a short while of helping the conscious Nurse Joy clean up, she gave us our rooms and took care of the rest. Team Magma and Team Aqua really knew how to make a mess. Our rooms were just like every pokecenter before, so Steven and I instinctively knew to change in the two separate rooms. When I came out of the bathroom, he was already sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep. It was pretty much midnight by then, so I curled next to him, too tired to pull over the covers, and fell asleep.

I woke up the next day to Spheal nuzzling my elbow. I lifted it, confused at first. Then last nights events hit me. Spheal saw the look of exhaustion on my face and nuzzled me again. She must've seen nurse joy in the middle of the night because she looked a lot better than before. Her scratched were healed and her bruises back to normal color. The only thing about her that seemed to be out of place was her painfully thin figure. She nudged me again.

"You want breakfast, huh?" I asked. She nodded quickly, nearly rolling herself over. "Well, what do you like to eat? I'm sure the pokecenter serves anything here." She took a minute to think. Then she just hopped off the bed and waddled to the door. "Hang on, girl. We gotta get dressed."

I turned my head in Steven's direction and was greeting with a perfect kiss on the lips. Steven drew away to smile. It was amazing how great he looked with his hair in a jumbled mess. He drew me close and kissed my forehead.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he said sweetly.

"Good morning," I replied. "Sleep well?" He nodded.

"It's never a bad sleep with you around." He kissed me again, this time holding me in place by putting his hands on my cheeks. It was a long and prolonged kiss that made my heart melt in ecstasy. I forgot to breathe the first couple of seconds but caught it and kissed him back. I was far too shy to do more than tilt my head every now and then, but it still made his face turn red. When we finished, he was too shy to look at me. He instead held me close, rested my head on his shoulder, and started gently running his fingers up and down my back. I relaxed at the feel of his soft touch. This was my sort of heaven.

"Spheal," the ice pokemon barked, hopping on the bed. She glared at Steven, face reddening in anger. "Sphea…" she warned, slowly waddling closer.

"I'm not hurting her," Steven said defensively. "She likes it."

"Sphea…" the pokemon said, ignoring him. I held up my hand and put it on her head. She instantly relaxed at the warm touch of my fingers.

"It's alright," I promised. "He's my boyfriend. This is a good kind of touching. Like me rubbing your head. See? Don't you like that, Spheal?"

"Spheal!" Her face of complete zen turned into sudden rage at her name. She shook off my hand and started turning red in the cheeks, not in embarrassment, but anger. Steven and I sat up, confused. "Sphea… sphea…" she tried to explain.

"She doesn't like to be called by her pokemon name," Steven guessed. The pokemon hated that he had to be the one to say it, but she bobbed her head in agreement. "You need to nickname her."

"But I haven't even really caught her yet," I whispered. Spheal sighed and rolled backwards off the bed, bouncing over to my bag. She picked up the egg with her mouth gently, set it on my jacket, and started digging through the fanny pack. She threw some of my pokemon related items over her shoulder. It was like she was searching for something. When I began to get up to help her, she was consumed by red light. She was sucked into one of the pokeballs I had in my bag. "What are you doing?" I stood up and picked up the bag. The ball she was trapped in dropped into my palm. It stopped glowing red, indicating a successful capture. "Oh. Well. That was unexpected."

"She really wanted to be your pokemon, I take it," Steven said. Grabbing some fresh clothes from his bag and tossing them over his shoulder. "I'm getting changed. You change out here. We'll get her and all the pokemon some breakfast before the battle with your dad." He walked into the restroom to change, closed the door behind him, but continued talking. "I thought he was going to kill you last night, but he seemed to be cool with the whole ordeal between you and I." I started putting on my clothes.

"Mom talked to him first," I explained. "She usually has some common sense when it comes to me and boys."

"So you've had things like this happen before?" I picked up my fanny pack and put the egg delicately inside.

"Several times. When I went to school I walked home with friends every day so I wouldn't be attacked by pokemon. Every guy he'd see at the front door was my boyfriend according to him. It's part of the reason I didn't really date anyone when I was younger. Besides the whole not having a pokemon thing."

"Did you ever have a crush on them?" he asked jokingly.

"Nope," I said honestly. "Didn't like them or their pokemon. They felt the same about me." He didn't reply. "What about you? Ever have a crush?"

"I told you, just those random fans and rumors."

"Before you became the champion?" I asked.

"Just a stupid one," he answered simply. "Can I come out now?"

"Yeah." He stepped out in a fresh suit and perfectly combed hair. His shoes shone like gems and his face was back to uncanningly cool. "It's ok the be yourself when we're alone, you know." His shoulders relaxed. He took a deep breath and let his posture sag.

"Thank you for reminding me. It's hard to keep this up all the time." He stepped up to me. "Here, let me put your hair up."

"Up?" I asked.

"Yeah, like how you had it at the contest." He paused. "I like it that way." I smiled.

"Sure. Go ahead." He took two locks of my hair and began braiding them, one at a time. He was careful and slow at his work, so I started up a conversation again. "You said you had a stupid crush? What was so stupid about it?" He bit his lip. "Oh, c'mon. It can't be that stupid." He sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I liked watching gym leaders battle when I was a kid, so I was especially interested in Sabrina from Kanto." I chuckled. He blushed and forced himself not to make eye contact while braiding. "Told you it was stupid."

"No, not at all." I looked down at my feet to better help him get more of my hair. "Everyone in Saffron loved her. She was an amazing gym leader when she lived there."

"Is she not there anymore?" He moved onto the other lock of hair, starting to braid it from the top. "She was so young, did she retire?"

"No," I replied. "I thought you might've heard. She and a few other gym leaders were with Giovanni when it came to the whole incident at Silph." He paused. "They wanted in on all of the fame and glory, so she joined Team Rocket. Went into hiding not long after that." He continued.

"I never would have thought she would do such a thing," he admitted.

"It came as a surprise to all of us in Saffron." He finished my hair. "I guess that's what happens when you have really powerful pokemon and fame. You let it get to your head and want more-" Steven hugged me slowly. I felt him holding back from squeezing me tighter. He wouldn't let me go. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No." He faced me. "I'm just worried."

"About Sabrina?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No. About you." I blinked in confusion. "You're mewthree and can live multiple lives. You can have all the fame and fortune you want if you just showed your powers to people like Gabby and Ty. And you have those orbs in your chest." He paused, eyes sorrowful. "I feel like if something goes wrong, you could end up like her." I met his eyes.

"Nothing like that will ever happen, I can promise you that." He looked a little relieved, but not enough. I hugged him tightly. "Nothing is going to happen to me. As long as I live, I'll never become evil like her."

"But your primal rage whenever something goes wrong…" he whispered, gently hugging me back. I loosened the grip so I could kiss his neck.

"I'll stop. I promise." He relaxed a little more.

"Thank you, Mew."

"Anything for you." We pulled apart. "We better get some food. Brendan and your dad will be expecting us."

He was more than right. By the time we stepped out of our room, Norm and Brendan were sitting at one of the larger pokecenter tables, a huge buffet before them. I approached it, confused. There was so much food. Too much food. This couldn't be just for the four of us. That's when I noticed Brendan's pokemon were digging in on the far side of the table, nearly covered in the food they ate in a hurried mess. My pokemon emerged from their balls in turn. Their eyes widened and they started eating the food right away, happy to have such a selection before them.

"I knew your pokemon would like it," Dad said. "They must be tired of pokeblocks and berries by now. A good pokecenter meal should get them ready for the big battle today."

"Thanks, for ordering all this," I said in his direction.

"No problem," Brendan said, taking the credit.

"You paid for all this?" I questioned. He nodded, sipping away at his coffee. "Are you a millionaire or something, Brendan? You seem to have a lot of extra cash for a trainer on my level."

"I have a few bucks saved up from the old days." He pat a seat next to him, refusing to explain further. "C'mon Steve-o. I got you a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. Mew can sit next to Norm."

"No, no." Dad interrupted without looking up from the newspaper. "I'd love to sit next to Mew's boyfriend. Mew, take a seat next to Brendan." Steven hardly showed it, but I was able to sense the fear emanating from him. I did as my dad told and Steven did likewise. Brendan chuckled at the sudden change of events and dove even deeper into his waffles. As soon as we were settled and my pokemon began to eat, Dad started the topic like every other dad in the known universe. "So. How do you plan to supply for my daughter?" Steven twitched.

"Dad," I whispered. "Stop. I don't-"

"Do you plan on being the champion forever, or do you have a backup plan?"

"Dad-"

"There's plenty of family that already can't wait to meet you."

"Um?"

"I hope you two are being safe in more ways than one." Once he said that, I hit my head on the table, too embarrassed to lift it. Steven was just frozen solid, unable to speak or look away from the table. Brendan laughed and tossed a box on the table.

"Don't worry, Mew Norman, I got them covered."

"It's worrisome that you're carrying these around. It doesn't even look like they knew you had it." Norman paused. "Did you call me Mew Norman?"

"Thought you'd like a cool nickname like Steve-o here has." He turned to the champion, but his expression was masked by a thick layer of red skin. He looked to the side in a mental panic. "Ah, they're still shy around each other. I'm sure it'll ease up over time." I lifted my head from the table, covered my face with my hands and peeked through the fingers.

"B-Brendan please..." I whispered. "Is this really a good time to be joking?" Brendan bared his teeth in a flawless smile.

"Course it is. We're only talking about-" Steven covered Brendan's mouth. His cool was back, but his face was still red as a cherry.

"Norman, I can assure you Mew and I are... not prepared for that." His lip twitched. Dad nodded, oblivious to the awkwardness at hand.

"And when do you think you will be ready?"

"S-sir..." Steven voice trailed off.

"Surely you're not hoping to date my daughter without telling me everything, right?" Norm looked like he was enjoying torturing him. Luckily the pokemon were so absorbed by their food they didn't notice us freaking out. "Tell me, do you have a family history on you? I'll need to make sure my grandchildren get the proper care."

Brendan started laughing so hard that tears rolled down the sides of his cheeks. He leaned back in his chair and it slipped out from under him. On the floor, he laughed even harder. So hard that he curled up in a ball and started gasping.

"Norm, I-" Steven started.

"That's Mr. Zakuro to you. You may be my boss when it comes to pokemon, but in these matters, you answer to me." Steven just nodded. The gym leader let the air calm and Brendan cease laughing to continue. He put a hand on Steven's shoulder. Not an angry gesture, but a father-like one. The champion met his eyes forcefully. "Steven, I want you to be honest with me. Can you do that?"

"Y-yes."

"Does Mew make you happy?" The room went quiet. Steven's face returned to normal at the question. He smiled, relaxed, and replied in his strong voice. I lifted my head from the table slowly. Both their eyes were glowing.

"More than anyone else."

"Will you take care of her no matter what?"

"Without hesitation."

"And if you do anything to harm her, do I have your permission to break your legs?"

"Of course." Norman smiled at Stevens answer.

"You better. If I have a problem with you, I'll make sure you know." He removed his hand. "By the way, you owe me one for keeping this a secret for so long. I'll figure out a way you can repay it later." There was a brief silence.

"So…" I started. "Does that mean I can…?"

"Yes, Mew. You can date Steven." I felt happiness lift my heart. Steven smiled his true smile, not the calm, collected one, but his big, awkward grin. Brendan was too busy stuffing himself with even more waffles to care. "But if either of you do something stupid, I'll break your legs."

"D-Dad-"

"Rub some salt on it," he answered quickly.

Spheal jumped up on the counter and waddled over to me. She was full of so much food that her round form was almost back to normal. She jumped into my arms and began to nuzzle herself up under my chin. I stroked her side, warmth filling my chest. She was so happy and full of strength now. I'm glad I found her when I did.

"Would you look at that," Dad marveled. "A pokemon that willingly approaches my daughter with no intent to harm. It's a miracle." Like he had said something to offend them, my other three pokemon hopped over to me. Sinbad sat himself on my shoulder, Plum on the other with his arms wrapped lovingly around them. Eve sat under Spheal and on my lap, where she warmly snuggled up to me. The look on my dads face was completely ecstatic. He couldn't have been happier. "You've got a great team of pokemon. I'm surprised I ever thought you'd never become a great trainer."

"Thanks, Dad."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you in our battle." He stood up so quick that his chair and the table flipped backwards, spilling the empty plates all over the ground. Luckily Steven and Brendan moved out of the way fast enough, or they would've been smeared by the remains of their breakfast. Dad kicked the chair I had been sitting in out of the way to face me properly. His eyes gleamed in utter mischief. "I challenge you, Mew Zakuro of Saffron City, to a battle!"

"Oh, no, Norm's lost it," Steven whispered.

"Oh my god." Brendan started laughing again. "Her full name is Mew Zakuro? That's freaking hilarious!"

Leader Norman Would Like To Battle!

Battle Start!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…

Hey, Readers! As you might've already experienced, school is starting back up! I've got a load of hard classes to take this semester, so if the chapter uploads are a little spaced out, don't freak! They'll be coming every now and then. Keep up with the story and remember to leave a review or a favorite. Keep on readin'!

Your favorite author,

Mew Ike


	47. Dad's Tougher Than I Thought!

Chapter 47

Dad and I decided to have the battle in his gym. My dad had already decorated the battle room to look just like a real pokemon stadium, not the just plain rooms other gyms had. In the mini stadium he had built with several of his own pokemon were cushioned seats, foot rests, even cup holders. There were isles even for the pokemon to sit in and watch. If it weren't for the flat screen TV that was yet to be hooked up and the outer walls to be decorated, then it would've been a dream pokemon stadium.

"I didn't think the Four had been so generous with rebuilding your gym," Steven admitted.

"They weren't," Norman corrected. "I've actually beaten so many trainers so far that I added my own arrangements." What? Oh, god no. My dad was taking his job way too seriously. Hopefully he was letting some kids get his badge, or I was screwed. "I haven't passed a single trainer yet." Steven raised his eyebrows while I silently rocked myself in the corner of my mind.

"Not a single one? And you're using only three pokemon?"

"Of course. The three you requested." Dad sounded more than proud of himself. "To be honest, most of them didn't have four badges beforehand, so it was easy. The ones that had the requirements were a lot harder." He smiled all cocky-like. "I guess you could say I'm the toughest Leader in all of Hoenn."

"If you can beat Mew, I can think about moving your gym up in rankage." The champion's eyes gleamed. "That means an exceptional pay raise." Dad grabbed me by the collar so suddenly that Brendan jumped back, thinking he was about to be attacked. The look on my Dad's face was so excited that he was sweating.

"Didcha hear that, Mewy?" he whispered. "Pay. Raise! You better lose!" He pushed me away and darted towards the center of the arena, where he dialed someone on his PokeNav and began talking frantically.

"Mewy?" Brendan asked, pulling out a notepad like he was going to take notes. "Man, your dad is getting really generous with the stupid names." I slapped the pen from his hand.

"If you or anyone else calls me Mewy, I'll bury you alive." Ignoring his cackles, I turned to Steven. "Are you serious? Why would you do that? I can't let him lose now."

"He's getting the pay raise either way," Steven explained. "Having beaten so many trainers with pokemon that he normally doesn't train with is exceptional." I paused. "Don't be confused. I've really just amped him up to fight you harder is all."

"Then why did you do that? You saw how bad it got with Wattson! He was going all for it then, too!"

"Didn't you win? Even with one pokemon against four? With a mega against you?" Steven took a moment to think. "Now that you mention it, it'll be easy for you to win with a fighting type pokemon that knows six moves. He has three pokemon, too. Here's a new rule, you can't use Eve. Use your spheal, kirlia and nuzleaf. That'll be just fine."

"St-Steven, you're making this so much worse for me!" I gathered myself and made a cute face. He flinched, reddening. "Don't you want to get rid of that last rule for me? Please? It'd be great if you could." Now he was twitching. I had used this face on my parents several times before. It only failed a few times compared to the various times it had been used. Sadly, Steven could see through it.

"N-no." He looked away and closed his eyes. "You're far too powerful a trainer not to be challenged. You haven't lost a single battle yet, so I think we should see where the breaking point is." He turned to Brendan. "I'll tell Norman of the new arrangements. You're in charge of concessions." I was confused about what he was telling Brendan until I looked around.

Whoever Dad had called, it had been one hell of a phone call. The gym was almost full of spectators. People and pokemon were flooding in from every entrance to try and grab a seat. Some were even fighting over the closer ones. There were already a few people selling drinks and snacks, but they were small in number. Steven must've noticed this while trying not to look into my cute face.

"No way," Brendan said, crossing his arms. "If you want me to sell popcorn to suckers, then-"

"I'll give you five hundred poke dollars."

"Where do I go?"

"To the north exit," Norm said, stepping up to our little get together. "There's a tall man in a red and white striped hat. Talk to him. He'll get you all suited up." Brendan couldn't have darted away faster. Dad looked to me. "Tell me if I heard right: Mewy can't use her starter?"

"Correct. She hasn't lost a battle yet." Steven held out his hand. Even though I didn't want to, I handed Eve's ball to him. He took it and clipped it to his belt.

"Not a single battle lost?" Norm stroked his chin, eyes gleaming mischievously. "Well, we're going to have a great battle. C'mon, while the crowd is still fresh. Send out your first pokemon." He didn't even wait for me to reply. He just strutted away with a skip in his step. I bet he could already hear the crowd chanting his victory.

I scanned the crowd. Everyone was either watching him with determination in their eyes, me like they were scanning the skill just by my posture, or hungrily at the nearest vendor. The tinge of excitement hit me. There was a bit of nerves being wracked, but I threw those aside. It was time to face my father. The time for my fifth gym badge.

"You ready to face him?" Steven asked.

"I was ready before you came in," I joked. He flashed a brilliant grin.

"Trust me. This is not only for Norman's sake, but getting me ready to take you on myself."

"Isn't that cheating?" I questioned, glaring.

"You've seen two of my pokemon. It's only fair I get to see your battle skills." He put his hands on my shoulder and kissed me on the forehead before I could begin to argue. "Now go to your father. The crowd is waiting." I let him kiss my forehead once more before turning away and stalking off towards Dad. I looked over my shoulder to wave and saw he was already doing so. Then he started off towards one of the entrances.

I stepped up to my side of the arena, where the ref was standing patiently for me. He went over a few basic rules of gym battling, which I already knew, then asked me simple questions like how many pokemon I had, if I intended to use items, and other useless things among those lines. When all was said and done, he sauntered over to the center of the stadium. He picked up two flags that had been placed in the center. Right away, the noises of the crowd began to calm. As soon as I could hear myself breathe, he threw his arms out to each side, red flag in my direction, red flag in Dad's. He smiled at me, pearly white teeth mocking me silently.

"Welcome to Petalburg Gym!" The Ref's voice was absurdly loud for anyone I had ever known. They probably hired him just because of that. "Today, Petalburg's normal type Leader will be taking on yet another challenger! Please welcome Mew to the town!"

The crowd started applauding and cheering. It wasn't until I lifted my hands to wave that they began to pick up the volume. I raised my other hand and the crowd got even louder. I had never had so many people look up to me like that, so I bowed my head and allowed myself to blush. It was exhilarating. I wanted more, but was too frozen stiff to even begin to reel in more cheers. The cheers died down and I was able to lift my head.

"Don't forget to welcome the Leader, father of his opponent, Leader Norman!" The announcer got about halway through his speech before Norm raised his fist to the sky and began pumping it. The crowd went nuts and the Ref was left in the dust compared to the noise the gym was making. My idiot father even went around the room, high fiving people in the front row and making embarrassing basketball dunks in a toddler hoop near the west entrance. He even tossed some of the play balls into the audience, where the crowd grabbed at it like it was gold. I was supposed to be trying so hard to not slip under the pressure of being watched by probably hundreds of people, but now I had to force myself to look calm at the sight of my dad being a complete freak.

As a finishing act, my dad pulled out a bottle of hair gel from his coat pocket and slicked his hair into a mohawk. then he proceeded to run take his space at the other end of the arena and beat his chest like a gorilla for a few seconds before the Ref had to stop him. The gym leader shook his head, dispelling any excess gel and giving himself a bedhead before pulling out his first pokeball. I did the same. Then, nodding at each other, we tossed both our pokeballs in the air. His first pokemon: Slaking. My first pokemon: Plum. Normal types should be no problem for him. Since most Slaking's had high stats, their ability was most commonly truant: making them so lazy they can only attack every other turn. The pokemon started out doing thusly when Dad yelled at him to use yawn.  
>"Plum, use magical leaf, go!" Plum did as told and hit the slaking head on. The pokemon didn't even try to dodge it. He just sat there and took it like it was nothing. Yet according to the board that displayed pictures of our pokemon and their health, he had been knocked down about a third of the way to fainting. "Quick, before it can attack, disarming voice!" I spoke quickly, but by the time Plum had started his attack, the slaking had gotten to his feet and rolled out of the way. He opened his jaw wide, prepared to use the yawn attack that Norm had called out before. Plum didn't even need to be told to dodge, he did it anyway. The heavy pokemon lie back down and started picking his nose absentmindedly.<p>

"Non-stop magical leaf, go!" Plum started lashing out at the slaking. He was just about to faint without putting up a fight when he stood. Plum took a break, taking to a knee to catch his breath.

"Hammer arm!" Dad shouted with confidence. The pokemon stood up and beat on his chest, bellowing his strength. The crowd started cheering. Surprised by the sudden change, Plum checked his surroundings.

"No, Plum!" Before he could even think to block it, Norm's pokemon hit mine with a blow that cut Plum's down to a forth. It was good, however, because Plum was close enough to use a strong wave of confusion. The slaking fell limp. fainting right on top of the kirlia. I thought this was good until I realized that just the sheer weight of the lazy pokemon had taken out mine as well.

"A double knock-out!" the ref announced to the crowd that had gone silent in confusion. "Trainers, use your next pokemon!" The crowd applauded at the sound of it.

"Good one on ya, Mewy!" Dad shouted as I retrieved my pokemon. "If my pokemon had gotten ahold of you, however, you would've been destroyed." I hated to admit it, but he was right. That was a pathetic play on my part. Plum is much smaller than a normal slaking. I should've had him evade it. I'd be ahead of him if it wasn't for that flaw. I pulled out Sinbad's ball.

"There's a big crowd. Don't be distracted, alright?" The ball quivered. He had heard me. I released him onto the field. He started by pulling out his blade of grass and started chewing on it nonchalantly. The crowd started muttering, seeing that he was missing one of his eyes and in its space was a healed over scar. He didn't even let it phase him. He was a tough pokemon. I was unsurprised that Dad sent out another slaking. That meant his last pokemon had to be vigoroth. I think Nuzleaf could take on both of them. I hadn't used my spheal in battle, and I still didn't want to. She could still be weak. Or afraid of battling. I shook my head. Snap out of it, Mew! Focus on the battle at hand!

I could do this. There's no way I'm losing to Dad!

Leader Norman Would Like To Battle!

Slaking use Hammer Fist!

Kirlia Used Razor Leaf!

Double Knock Out!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…


	48. Will Spheal Make It?

Chapter 48

Sinbad shivered in anticipation. "Sinbad, use leaf blade!" He shook his head, clearing it, then drew the blade of leaves. He charged the slaking and sliced it with the sharp sword. The beast took two or three hits before the look in his eyes changed from lazy to aggressive.

"Get out of there!" My shout was answered by Sinbad jumping back almost immediately. He panted and balanced on one leg, dropping the sword so it turned to a pile of leaves once again. Dad's pokemon got on both feet and raised his chin to the air, where he bellowed loudly. Nuzleaf put his foot down, eyes wild, and shouted just as loud back. The slaking, suddenly angry, lashed out at Sinbad without command. A faint attack hit Sinbad right in the heart. "Counter, now!"

The dark-type pokemon hit the pokemon likewise in the heart with a swift pursuit. The pokemon took it like it was a surprise to him. Surely he must've seen it coming, right? Both pokemon paused, Sinbad waiting for my command while holding his fist to the foe's chest, and slaking likewise. But there was something in the way his pokemon stood that made me uneasy. The fat normal type was holding in his breath, focusing heavily on Sinbad's eyes.

Focusing. My mind clicked.

"Sinbad, get out, now, now, now!" Unsure of what was going on, Sinbad hit the beast in the chest one more time, using him as a push off to get further away. He shouldn't have used his move. He should've just gotten out of the way. Because as soon as he leaned forward to push off, the pokemon took a hard focus punch to the face. "No!" Sinbad was dark as well as grass type. A fighting type move like that could one-hit a Nuzleaf. In fact, it almost did. If it wasn't for the fact that Sinbad loved and and held onto consciousness with only one health point left, I'd only have Spheal left.

I put my hand on my chest. My heart was racing at the speed of sound. I put my other hand on my face. I didn't expect a fighting type move from a normal type pokemon. Damn! Now my last strong pokemon was nearly fainted! I had to faint this pokemon. I had to get as many hits in as possible without taking any damage whatsoever. How?! Sinbad only knew close-ranged moves besides razor leaf, and that move would drain him of his energy and leave him like a sitting duck! How had I been so careless to let him stand in front of the pokemon like an idiot?

"You look baffled, Mewy!" Dad teased. I let my hands dangle at my sides. "Going to throw in the towel yet?"

"Not to you, old man!" Sinbad stomped his foot at my words and bared his teeth. "Go, razor leaf, don't hold anything back! If we have to faint, have it be at our own hands!" He did just as told. As Slaking's heath bar slowly started to deplete after each hit of each leaf, Sinbad's heath bar started trembling. Sweat started dripping down the side of his head and gathered at his feet. The audience leaned forward, enticed by the sudden shift in intensity. The slaking used his turn of loafing around, idly picking his nose. Dad watched with determined eyes, not letting his gaze turn towards the health board. When his pokemon started to move and get to his feet, the barrage of leaves stopped. Sinbad took to a knee, panted once, then fainted.

Dad's pokemon stood in broad triumph. The crowd didn't cheer or boo. They instead brought about a silence so still that I could hear the blood rushing in my ears, my heart beating against my chest, the sweat delicately rolling down my temples. Somehow, they were suddenly torn about who they wanted to win. He seemed to notice as well. His eyes scanned the room, meeting almost every set of eyes, young and old, human and pokemon. The silence went unbroken until I returned Sinbad to his pokeball.

I pulled out my last pokeball. I opened my mouth, ready to give a pep talk, but Spheal burst from it, nearly smacking me in the face with her tail as she bounded into battle. Without so much of a command, so much of a hint of hesitation, Spheal used rollout and hit the slaking right in the face. A tooth took to the air. He was so surprised by the force of the move that he flinched. Then Spheal hit once more, this time to the stomach. You could hear the fat on the pokemon clap and ripple from the force of it. He was thrown backwards and into the air, where Spheal hit him once more, shattering Slaking's health down to zero mid-air.

The hefty pokemon hit the ground, rumbling the whole stadium under his weight. Mine landed as well, but upon impact, back to me, there was a pause. Then she turned to me and smiled, the look of sheer power in her gaze.

The crowd lost it. People jumped up from their seats and started chest bumping each other so hard that they fell over. Kids were screaming and pumping their fists. Women were grabbing at their hair, their mouths in wide O's, looks of disbelief on their face. Pokemon who had no connection with each other whatsoever were throwing each other around, hollering. Dad stood there, flabbergasted. I was even more.

My spheal was a legitimate badass.

"Are you getting this, Ty?!" I hadn't noticed because I was too deep into battle mode, but now it became clear that Gabby and Ty, the reporters from Lavaridge, were filming our battle. It was live. How did I know? The screen opposite the battlefield from the pokemon's health bar was filming the unmasked look of awe on my fathers and my face. "You heard it here and you heard it here first, Norman, the new and yet undefeated gym leader in Petalburg city, is down to his last pokemon! This is the first time we have seen our famed Gym Leader backed into a corner. And by who? His own daughter: Mew!" I wiped the stunned look off my kisser and faced my father. He did likewise, holding out his slaking's pokeball.

"Looks like we're going to make the news again," he said as it returned to him. "The question is: will it be bigger than you and Steven?"

"We'll have to see." I didn't show it, but I was having a mental freakout. I didn't mind being on the news with Steven next to me doing all the talking, but in the midst of battle against my dad, using a pokemon I had never battled with before was making me a little uneasy. I flipped my hair back and took a breath through my nose. Spheal met my eyes. I tried to ask her with my gaze what a pokemon like her was doing with so much potential? Then it came to me.

Her past trainer. She must've been trained to the bone by him, her, whoever they were.

I pulled out my pokedex. At first, when I clicked on her picture, I thought the thing was glitched. Then, after a few taps of the screen, it became clear that it wasn't broken. Spheal was the highest-leveled pokemon in my party. Her stats were maxed, her ability the rarest of all, and she even knew sheer cold, a one-hit K.O. move. I tried to not let myself look surprised at her pokedex entry, but it was too much. I analyzed her moves and put the pokedex back in my pocket. She smiled at me, happier than ever.

"Let's get on with it," Dad called, sending out his vigoroth. The pokemon jumped from foot to foot, hands swinging in front of him in an intimidating dance. Spheal was unphased. She stood up to him, barely half of his height, and lifted her chin. Dad blinked at her sudden change in personality. "Use slash-"

"Rollout, go, go, go!" I interrupted. Spheal heard me and hit Norm's pokemon dead-on in the face. The normal type was barely able to get a single claw on Spheal before she darted away. Vigoroths slash hit nothing but air. He pulled his hand back, looking towards Norm for guidance. Spheal struck again, this time taking away twice as much health as before. He was left with a little more than three fourths health left. Rollout did twice as much damage with every hit in succession, so if things went right, I'd just need three more turns and the win was mine.

"Vigoroth, don't hold back, faint attack!" The speedy pokemon darted from his spot and took off towards my pokemon. His faint attack hit, but at the same time his arm made contact with Spheal's plump flesh, she darted forward. He hit her harder than intended and his arm was forced back into his chest, where he was hit by another rollout. His health started falling drastically. "Back out, back out!" Without hesitation, the pokemon retreated. Mine continued to roll about the battlefield like an unstoppable bowling ball. She bounced from wall to wall, purposely just skimming past her opponent as if she were teasing him, playing with him. Needless to say, Dad's pokemon was beginning to look uneasy.

"Rollout!" I shouted.

"Slash!" Dad's voice cracked. He coughed then loudly announced again, "Slash!" His pokemon looked back at him with an expression that read, "Seriously? You expect me to go up against this thing with the same move?" Dad bared his teeth. "Use your claws! If she pushes into you, don't hesitate to strike!"

His unnerved pokemon had forced him to give out his battle plan. And he had a good point. Last time he had tried to slash Spheal, he had been too surprised to point his claws at her and injure her instead of let her push into him last time. This time, if we attacked from head-on, it would be crushing. She had a lot of fat covering her to take a few slices, but if he aimed for the same spot repeatedly, that would be bad.

I took a look at her. She was taunting him, coming close to hitting him then darting away to bounce off a wall and do it again, this time faster. Faster. That's it. If we attacked fast enough, he wouldn't be able to dodge it!

"Spheal, get some speed going!" I wasn't sure if she was squealing because she heard me or she was getting dizzy, but regardless, she began to pick up speed. The field took on the feel of a pinball game as she bounced from wall to wall to wall, gathering speed after every hit. Dad's pokemon couldn't keep up with it, so it put its' back to a wall and held it's claws out in front of it. It began to tremble. Perfect. "Now, attack!"

Just hearing my words sent the poor pokemon into a frenzy of claws and teeth, shielding himself in a barrier of fear. My pokemon hadn't even tried to attack yet; she was just gathering speed. By the time her foe had to catch his breath, she struck, dealing enough damage to make the next successful rollout the winning strike. Vigoroth put his hands over his head and started trembling against the wall.

"Vigoroth!" Dad shouted. The pokemon peeked an eye towards him. "Trust me, we can do this. You just need a good few hits." I wasn't sure how he managed to do it, but the pokemon toughed it out and stood up. He put his back to the wall and held out his hands. His stance was strong and his eyes intimidating. There was no way to penetrate that defence without going straight in.

I started to think. If Spheal stopped spinning or missed, that mean we would have to build up the rollout again. That would take time, time that Dad would use to whittle down her HP and take the win as his own. She would be weak, tired, dizzy, and over all fatigued. I had to get past his defence or risk losing. But if we hit him and his defence was too strong, then his slash could do a lot more damage. It could mean the end of the battle for me. But I couldn't pass that defence. Not anymore. We had to go straight through, take whatever damage came our way, and end it.

"Alright, girl." I sliced my hand through the air. "Full force! No holding back! Rollout with all you got!"

There was a split second of pause. In that split second, people paused, kids were silenced, and the entire nation of Hoenn sat on the edge of their seats in front of the TV. Spheal bounced off the wall from the other end of the room, so quick I nearly missed the part where she collided with the Vigoroth. I saw his claws meet her flubbery flesh and almost looked away. If it wasn't for the sudden crack in the air, I would've closed my eyes.

All of Vigoroths' claws shattered at the sheer force of Spheals impact. They didn't only shatter, but dusted. The dust was kicked up in the air, blown away immediately by Spheals rapid spinning. Her rollout hit the target dead on, but she had sustained some damage herself. The two pokemon broke apart, snarling. They landed, feet spread wide to keep their stance. Spheals front was torn and Vigoroth was fighting the oncoming clouds that fogged his vision. The whole crowd turned to the health bars posted above the stadium. They were both falling, Spheals a lot faster than Vigoroths. But as soon as Spheals stopped, barely half a health point before fainting, Vigoroth fell forward onto his stomach. His health bar flashed. He fainted.

I had won.

I threw my arms in the air, nearly knocked backwards by the sudden screaming of the crowd. Gabby and Ty were pushed aside by a group of pokemon and people that came rushing out onto the field, lifting me onto their shoulders and carrying me around. The crowd was losing it. Popcorn, candy, even toys were taking to the air in makeshift confetti. The screen, which had a picture of me being sprinkled by the word "WINNER" in different fonts was turned up to full volume but mute against the cheering of the crowd. Pokemon randomly started battling around us, proving their strength while the camera still rolled. Gabby and Ty tried to push through the crowd to get ahold of me for an interview, but Spheal and I were swept away by the crowd.

I grabbed onto the exhausted pokemon when they lifted her into the air and held her close.

"Good job," I said, surprised that she heard me. "You're an amazing pokemon. I'm glad to have you on my team." She panted, then smiled. I returned her to her pokeball. then I lie back and let the crowd carry me around like a rockstar. I had done it.

I had beaten Dad.

Spheal Used Rollout!

Vigoroth Used Slash!

Vigoroth Fainted!

Spheal Toughed It Out For Mew!

Leader Norman Was Defeated!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	49. Salamandar And A Homesick Red!

Chapter 49

There was a lot of work to be done after that gym battle. I had to somehow calm down the crowd that insisted on carrying me nonstop, I had to do a lengthy interview with Gabby and Ty, I had to receive my badge from Dad in front of the camera like it was a big deal, and then I had to sign some stuff for the fans. Apparently I was a big deal in Hoenn now. They even made T-shirts with my face and name on it. I signed the shirts, some autograph books, even some cheeks and foreheads. My chicken scratch of a signature was actually worth something. After the fans had their fill and Ty had packed his camera, I walked out of the gym and into the cool night.

Spheal appeared out of her pokeball and landed gently at my feet. She was about to faint but fought the urge to look up at the sky with me. I sat down on the grass and let the sea breeze waft over us. Last time I had come here, I had just barely seen the night sky for its' worth. Now, in the middle of the night with my new partner in my lap, it seemed even closer than before.

"Sphea…" Spheal uttered at me.

"Hm?" I met her eyes. Right, away I knew what she wanted. "Oh, you want to change your name. To be honest, my mind draws a blank when I think about that."

"Sphea…" She poked her head in my pocket and dropped the pokedex Birch had given me on the ground. I leaned over it. Spheal used her nose to poke some buttons on the machine and pull up the image of a kecleon, the lizard pokemon that camouflage its entire body except the red stripe across its stomach. "Spheal."

"You… want to be named Kecleon?" She shook her head.

"Spheal, spheaaaa!"

"Oh, you have a name in mind." She nodded. "And it pertains to a kecleon." She nodded harder and faster. I sighed through my nose and rubbed my chin. "Ok, let's think here. Kecleon is a lizard pokemon."

"Spheal!" I was getting there.

"You want to be called Lizard?"

"Spheallll!" She shook her head again.

"Oh, well, it's a chameleon. How about Cammy?" She just stared at me. "Gecko? Iguana? Salamander?" She jumped up at the last word, eyes shimmering. "Salamander? You want to be called Salamander?"

"A-a-ar," she stammered, attempting to speak my language.

"Salaman...dar?" She bobbed her head. "Salamandar. That's a lot of syllables, but I like it." She jumped up into my arms, snuggling under my chin. "Why do you want to be called Salamandar so bad?" I asked. "Well, I guess I can't really get a real answer from you. I don't quite understand pokemon language. Not yet. I'm a sad excuse for Mewthree."

"Thinking out loud?" Steven scared me by leaning over me, hands in his pockets. "I would watch what you say aloud, Mew. You're popular enough as it is."

"Oh, yeah, right." I blushed. Seeing her chance to leave, Salamandar returned to her pokeball. I clipped it to my belt as Steven settled himself next to me. I shifted the half inch or so there was between us so he could sling an arm over my shoulder. "I have a feeling you didn't think I could win today," I admitted.

"I wasn't sure the outcome," he explained. "I know that it would've been a sure win with Eve, so I wanted to see your true potential. It's there, alright. You've got what it takes to become a master."

"Thanks." I leaned into him. "I have to ask, have you been skipping out on challengers to be with me?"

"Um..."

"I take that as a yes." I turned to him. "You can't keep skipping out on your duties like that. You'll get fired or something."

"Can't get fired when you're the champion. Can't even quit." The way he said it made it sound like a curse. "It's just battles, day in and day out. I told the Four I'd be taking a vacation. Didn't tell them why until our little interview at Lavaridge. They're not too happy with me."

"How many challengers do you have to face?"

"A few," he conceded. He looked at me. "I'll have to face them sooner or later. Well, soon." He paused abruptly.

"How soon?"

"Tomorrow." He grabbed my hands when he saw the upset look on my face. "But I've got good news. The Four are bringing them here so I don't have to travel all the way to Victory Road. We don't have to be apart like before." I was so relieved about the sudden change in news that I leaned forward and kissed him without thinking. His face warmed under my touch, but he kissed back just as smooth and soft as ever. He even moved some stray strands of hair from my face to help make it less uncomfortable.

We separated and he held me against him, rubbing the side of his head against mine. I leaned into him and did the same. It felt so right to be in his arms. It was like being wrapped in a warm blanket.

"There are some rules, about you being nearby, though," he said, unmoving.

"What are they?"

"You can't watch the match. Battles between the champion and challengers are usually within a closed area, no cameras, no audience. No doubt they'll empty out the Petalburg Gym and have me battle them in there with the doors shut."

"I can't cheer you on?"

"I'm afraid so." He pulled away to look into my eyes. "There's going to be quite a few challengers. It will take all day to battle them all. That's a whole day we can only talk for a few minutes between matches." I didn't like the sound of it. It wasn't a lot different than him leaving for his usual spot past victory road, but a few minutes was better than none. "Can you handle that?" I nodded. "That means a whole day with your father and Brendan."

"Oh, yeah." I took a moment to think. There's no doubt Dad would want me to see mom. She'd come here and we'd have a big family day. But what would Brendan do? He didn't seem like the type that would want to attend a family get together. He'd probably go out and train. "I can handle that."

"Alright." He put both hands on my cheeks so he could kiss my forehead. Without moving from that spot, he said, "My dad is coming, too." My heart dropped. Ok, I could handle Dad, Mom, and Brendan, but Mr. Stone? "He wants to talk to you." There was no doubt that he would want to confront me about dating his son. "He won't bite, I promise."

"How do you know?"

"I don't." Great, I didn't need to sleep anyways. "I've never been with a girl before, so what he does will be new to me." He let me go so he could cup my cheeks and look into his eyes. The emerald depths nearly absorbed me. I found myself staring into them endlessly. He opened his mouth to say something, but was just as enticed as I was. He started leaning forward. "You need to be safe tomorrow, alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I whispered. His lips barely brushed mine before he spoke again.

"You tend to get in a lot of trouble." He stared into my eyes softly. "Please. Don't get hurt. I don't care how many lives you have. Just stay alive." Before I could answer, he kissed me. I let him lean into me and run his hands up and down my sides. I let my fingers run through his hair, feeling every soft lock against my skin. This was the first time he kissed me this passionately without trembling. I tried to do the same.

He pulled away and we rubbed noses.

"You're cute," he complimented. "You ready for some sleep?"

"More than ready." He stood up first, took my hand, then helped me to my feet. We started towards the pokemon center. The night was getting late and cold. I was beginning to shiver when Steven held me close to him. We reached the pokecenter right when Dad stepped out of it. He saw Steven and I and smiled.

"Ah, young love. I remember when your mother and I went on our first date." He slicked back his hair, catching some grease from earlier on his hands. "Those were some good times." He met Steven's eyes. "I'm going to need to borrow my daughter for a second if you don't mind. I already got you two your own room, you can wait there." Steven nodded.

"Of course." He took his hands off me and headed inside the building, looking back to wave at me with that dashing smile of his. I waved back, red in the face at how cute he was. When he reached the front desk, the automatic doors to the center closed, leaving Dad and I out in the open. Dad approached me.

"You did amazing today, Mew. I couldn't be more proud of you." His eyes were shimmering in the moonlight. I've never seen him this happy, and yet so sad. "Your mother is coming to town tomorrow to see you. She watched our whole battle and is just as proud."

"Thanks, Dad," I said. He nodded. Oh no. Was he… was he on the verge of tears? I met his eyes and saw that they were, indeed, getting wet. My smiled vanished. "Dad?" He saw the look on my face and smiled faintly.

"I'm fine, Mew." He bowed his head, eyes on his feet. "I watched you grow up with no friends, no pokemon, almost nothing but your mother and I. When you turned ten and couldn't get your first pokemon, I thought the rest of your life would be spent in Saffron, up in your room. I got the job here in Petalburg and thought it would be no different. Then you met Brendan, Steven, and that Torchic. It…" He clenched his fists. "It really makes a father happy when his daughter blossoms the way you did. The way you are right now." He lifted his head. There had been only one tear that fell from his face, but it had fallen when he was looking straight down, so there was no sign of it left. His eyes were still wet, however. "I can't tell you how happy I am that you are finally finding your place in this world."

My chest tightened. Should I tell him about being Mewthree? About being infused with the red and blue orbs? About anything? No, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I instead walked forward and hugged him. He hugged me back, trying to cover up a sniffle with an obviously fake cough. I pretended not to notice and tightened my grip.

What if he found out about my powers in some bad way, like over the news or in the paper? What if he never figured it out and I spent the rest of my life pretending to be normal? What would Dad do if one day I lost my last life and Steven or Brendan had to explain what happened to me? I tried not to shiver at the thought. I didn't want to die. Not after everything I've been through. I squeezed Dad a little tighter. I wasn't going to die. I wasn't going to let anyone take my last life. I was going to die an old, old woman. I was going to be happy.

Nothing would stop me.

Dad suddenly picked me up under the arms and lifted me in the air. Like I was a child again, he spun around with me in his grip. I laughed and let him spin me around. He laughed louder and started tossing me up and down like I weighed nothing to him. He used to do this to me when I was a kid. Wow, the memories that came flooding back to me nearly made me cry.

"Daddy loves ya, Mew," Norm said. "Don't forget that, alright?" He set me down. I tried to not shed any tears.

"Love you, too, Dad." Then we laughed again.

From inside the pokemon center, alone at his own table, Brendan sat. He watched Norman and I, laughing, playing, crying, and felt a ping of loneliness at his chest. He pounded a fist against his sternum, treating it like heart burn. When it refused to go away, he pulled out his PokeNav. On it was a map of the Kanto Region. He zoomed in on Pallet town, where a dot labeled Mom was marked. He searched the rest of the map, zooming in on Green, Blue, Yellow, and several other people. He pulled up pictures of them, making sure he still had their numbers and their pictures. Their smiling faces met his pained gaze.

His phone started ringing quietly. He picked it up without saying the traditional "Hello?"

"Red?" a soft woman's voice asked. "How are you sweetie?" His shoulders relaxed at the sound of her voice.

"I'm doing ok, Mom. Thanks for calling."

"Everyone misses you, you know." He didn't reply. "Green is getting bored of taking on challengers. He wants you to take up being the champion again." He took a moment to think.

"I found Giovanni's lost experiment." His mom went into stunned silence. "Her name is Mew. She's… she's not anything like him."

"Are you sure?" His mom wasn't questioning him to be rude, just clarifying. "That man didn't have a single nice bone in his body. Are you sure that an experiment of his isn't just hiding behind a mask?"

"She doesn't have a mask," Red replied, looking towards us. I was talking to Dad, oblivious that I was being watched. "She uses her power to help people, bond with pokemon, and protect everyone she loves. She's a god, and she won't take advantage of it like Mewtwo once did." He paused. "She's unstable. If something goes wrong, like someone gets hurt or killed, she loses it. I'm afraid her kindness could be her ultimate downfall. There's no doubt that the enemy will use it against her."

"Well, that leaves you to protect her." Red didn't reply. "Ah, I see. She has a boyfriend." His eyebrows came together.

"I'm not into her like that."

"Mm, hm. I can tell." Red's face started blushing.

"M-mom…"

"Oh stop. You know how you feel. Have you tried telling her?" No reply. "Well, tell her. Or else you'll never forgive yourself. You are just like your father, I swear." Red's chest tightened again. "I bet he's looking down on you right now, Red. I bet he'd tell you the same thing."

"I'll do it," he said interrupting her. Deep down, he knew she was right.

"You'll tell her?" His mom sounded surprised.

"Yeah…"

"She might turn you down."

"I don't care." His mom chuckled.

"That's a lie."

"You know what I meant."

"Hardly," she admitted. "You need to start smiling more often. I hope she's at least making you smile." He chuckled. "Ah, so she is. That's the thing about you, Red. Whenever you go out disguised as someone else, you become your true self. You laughed so much as a child. You had so many friends. What happened, sweetheart?"

"I think you know what happened," Red said softly.

"He's watching over you from heaven," his mom promised. "And he's proud of you. I think he'd be happier if you laughed more often, however."

"He's pretty happy, then."

"Well, good. I like hearing from you."

"I'll call more often."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Mom."

"Good. Now I got to go. It's pretty late here. Keep laughing and tell Mew you love her soon." Red blushed again.

"M-mom…"

"Just teasing, sweetie." She paused. "Be safe. I love you."

"Love you, too."

"Goodnight, Red."

"Goodnight, Mom."

Hey, Readers! Just a heads up: if you're confused, the next chapter or two will explain! Keep on Reading!

Your Favorite Author,

Mew Ike


	50. Red Makes An Entrance!

Chapter 50

The next day was cool and windy. The sea breeze wafted into Petalburg, bringing with it the scent of the ocean. I remember getting on a boat with Steven and Brendan, completely clueless that I was Mewthree. I remember having my first life stripped from me and the blue orb infused with me. The memories were fresh and oddly happy. If it hadn't been for the ship sinking and sheer luck, Steven and I wouldn't have hooked up in the basement of the abandoned ship. It sunk after that, but still, it was worth it.

I sat on top of the Petalburg Gym. They had installed railings so whoever wandered up there could safely watch the trees sway with the breeze, the ponds ripple, and the leaves swim in the wind. I sat with my legs under the lowest bar, head resting on the next one up. This town was beautiful. No, this whole region was beautiful. And I still had a lot to see. I wanted to go out and continue on our way to Fortree city, where the next gym leader was anticipating me. But today, as planned, Steven was taking on all his challengers. There were eight of them lined up in a row to try and beat him. I had seen them enter the gym with him, but I was unable to follow. Instead I took the outside stairs and climbed up here. I'd been here for only half an hour and it was already boring. What else was there to do?

"Mew!" I looked down between my feet. Mom and Dad were standing in front of the gym, waving. Dad had an arm slung over Mom, who was looking up to me with tears of joy in her eyes. I stood up and raced down the stairs. As soon as I was on the ground, I darted towards Mom and hugged her. She hugged me back, trembling in joy. "Oh, I'm so proud of you! How are you? Let me see your pokemon!"

Like on queue, all four of my pokemon presented themselves. Eve, then Plum, then Sinbad, then Salamandar. They all lined up, chins high, and smiled. Mom bent down and shook each of their hands. For Salamandar, she awkwardly pet her head. The spheal squealed in happiness.

"Look at them! They're gorgeous! They're adorable!" Plum flinched at her words. "Oh, sorry. You in particular are extremely manly." The kirlia smiled, nearly glowing in joy. Sinbad, with a new blade of grass in his mouth, snorted out his nose. Mom straightened. "Mew, they are all just so darling." I rubbed my neck.

"Thanks, Mom."

"Where's your boyfriend?" Dad answered her for me.

"He's taking on a few challengers. He'll be busy for the day, so I was thinking you, Mew, and I could get caught up over a meal at the pokecenter." The look on Mom's face was ecstatic. She clapped her hands together and bounced on her heels. I had nearly forgotten how much of a dork my mom was. It made me laugh to get all antsy and excited to talk to me.

"Excuse me," someone said gently. We all turned to my right. Approaching us with a hand raised in greeting was Mr. Stone. Oh, no. I was already freaking out. Was he purposely picking me out in front of my parents to torment me? What was he going to do? I looked calm on the outside, but my brain was melting. Arceus help me!

The rich older gentleman approached the three of us with a grin on his face. He met my eyes first and nodded, as if he could tell I was freaking out. Somehow, that simple gesture calmed me. He turned to my parents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Zakuro, am I correct?" They both nodded in unison. It was obvious they were confused about who was talking to them. "I am Mr. Stone, Steven's father." The look on their faces turned into understanding. "I take it you were surprised that your daughter and my son got together?"

"Very surprised," my mom replied.

"It's to be expected," Mr. Stone said. "I can assure you, however, my son was raised to be nothing but a gentleman when it comes to fine women like your daughter. She will be in good hands, I can promise." My parents exchanged surprised gazes. Then they looked back to him.

"Why, thank you, Mr. Stone." Dad spoke softly. He could tell by the way Mr. Stone talked and dressed that he was a rather rich man. I would've told them the company he owned, but I had a feeling he would get to that eventually.

"I have a party arranged for my son next week," he continued, reaching into his inner coat pocket and pulling out two red envelopes. He handed them to Mom and Dad. "He doesn't usually like celebrations, but I thought it would be nice to celebrate his birthday with you two there."

"Birthday?" I questioned. Mr. Stone looked at me and smiled.

"Ah, I figured he wouldn't tell you. He is turning seventeen in a few days time. There is a party in his honor in Lilycove city, where he was born and raised. It's quite a big deal. A great many famous personnel plan to attend: gym leaders, the elite four, ex-champions, contest masters, and so on. There'll be games, movies, contests, dances, treats, even entertainers. He normally pretends to be sick or otherwise hides so he doesn't have to go, but I have his weakness." He pointed to me. "You."

"You want me to make him go?" I asked.

"Don't lie, the party sounds fun to you, does it not?" I didn't reply. "Good. Because I'm making this year special. He's dating you, so I've prepared something for you as well. What do you call it…?" He took a minute to think. "A sort of… 'Congratulations on getting a girlfriend' party."

"Like… an engagement party?" Dad asked.

"I tried to avoid saying that because, as you already know, they are not really engaged. I wouldn't be surprised if they did one day." I nearly died. Mr. Stone was actually trying to embarrass me. Dad seemed to like it. He laughed loudly and clapped his hands.

"You sound like a pretty cool guy, Mr. Stone," he complimented.

"Likewise, Mr. Zakuro."

"Please, call me Norm."

"Oh, yes. You and your daughter share the same awkwardness around the mention of your last name." Dad wasn't the type to blush. He just twitched. "May I ask why?" Mom answered for him.

"It's my last name," she said. "He took it from me because I couldn't bear to part with it."

"I see. You can call me Mr. Stone. It's what everyone calls me." Mr. Stone was smiling.

"C'mon," Dad said. "What's your first name?" Mr. Stone paused.

"I can tell you it's just as embarrassing as Zakuro." He turned to me, leaving my parents blinking in surprise. "Will you try and get him to go, Mew?" I nodded.

"I can do that, Mr. Stone," I answered. He looked to my parents.

"I would like to offer you two a friendly brunch. Steven has not had a girlfriend before, one that he was entirely serious about, and I would like to properly get acquainted. Will you take me up on my offer?"

Get this. My parents liked him so much that they turned to me for permission to enjoy brunch with him. I smiled.

"We'll have dinner later tonight," I said. They nodded in unison. Mr. Stone gestured them to follow him. When they did as told, a limo that seemed to appear out of nowhere pulled up in front of them, opening its' doors wide in welcome. Mom clapped her hands in surprise. Dad pat her on the back, smiling. They were going to like Mr. Stone, I could tell.

"That took forever." Brendan appeared out of the nearby shrubbery, startling me. When I had caught my breath, I looked at him with an odd look. "Sorry to eavesdrop. I don't like hanging around Mr. Stone, otherwise I would've introduced myself to your parents."

"What's wrong with Mr. Stone?" I asked. Brendan's eyes flashed red.

"Dunno. He just doesn't like me." He stepped closer and lowered his voice. "We have a whole day to ourselves now. I want to try and train you." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Train?" I whispered, confused.

"You're not the most stable half pokemon, half human god. Last time you lost a life to help Steven, you nearly blew up Fallarbor Town. I want to help you control those Primal urges." He put a hand on my shoulder. "I used to have the same problem with my anger. I can teach you a few tricks. Are you willing to let me?"

"Y-yeah." I don't know what it was, but there was something off about Brendan. His eyes were softer, his touch gentle, his face calm. He wasn't like his usual happy-go-lucky self. He had something heavy on his mind, that much I could tell.

"Come with me." He took ahold of my hand and tugged me softly towards the west, where the sea was. It was a ways to the beach, but he wouldn't talk, he wouldn't look at me. He just urged me to follow him until we reached the sandy beach that opened up to the wide and beautiful ocean. When we were there, he gently pulled me to one side of the beach and walked to the other, where his red eyes met mine.

"I want you to picture what you fear most," he said. "I want you to picture what would happen if everything went wrong from this moment on." Just hearing him say that made my chest tighten. He must've noticed, because he nodded. "Good. Now focus on it like it actually happened." My chest throbbed. I grabbed at the spots where the blue and red orbs were placed in my chest. "Do you feel yourself filling up with power?"

"Y-yeah." I took a deep breath. "I don't like it, Brendan. I don't think I can do this."

"Mew, I'm going to be honest with you. The rest of our journey isn't going to be easy." He straightened. "People will die if you don't learn to control yourself. People you don't know, or maybe even people you know and love. You have a lot of power, and if it's not used correctly, the outcome will be catastrophic." His eyes were bright red now. He narrowed them into a glare. "Would you rather risk that, or learn to control them?"

He was really serious about this. I took a deep breath and met his eyes.

"I want to learn."

"Good." He approached me and put both his hands on my shoulders. There was something about the way he grabbed me that made my chest tighten harder. I looked down to his feet. "Look at me, Mew." I hesitated, but did as told. His red eyes were surprisingly soft. My chest unfurled. He tilted his head. "Don't be afraid of looking at me. I'm your friend. I'm only trying to help." Hearing him say that made me relax.

"Thanks, Brendan," I said. A hint of a smile hinted at his lips. Then he turned serious.

"Back to training." He released me. "What is your biggest fear, Mew?" I took a moment to think. "Do you fear death?"

"No."

"Is it something stupid like clowns?"

"No," I replied. He paused.

"Are you afraid of the dark?" I didn't answer that. He nodded. "I'd figure someone who shares Mews' genepool would be afraid of that. I don't have anywhere nearby I can take you to help face it, so you're just going to close your eyes for this whole exercise."

"Wh-what?" I shook my head. "I'd rather not."

"Are you that afraid of the dark?" He didn't say it as an insult. He was genuinely surprised. How have you managed this whole time? In the abandoned ship? In Meteor Falls? In Granite Cave?"

"I was never alone," I said before he could list more examples.

"Then it's not just the dark you're afraid of. It's being alone, too." I paused, then nodded slowly. "We've got a start on your fears. I know I can name one more: the death of someone close to you." My chest became so tight that I coughed. "Just the mere thought of that haunts you that much?" Again, he was surprised.

"It's all I had when I was younger," I said. "Mom and Dad. They were the only things I truly loved. Everything else was just there. If anything happened to them, I knew there wouldn't be much left for me to live for." Brendan stared. I stared back.

"You're lucky," he said. "Just by looking at your parents, I could tell that they were too young to be enlisted in the pokemon war that swept through all the regions years ago. You probably weren't even born then. I was just an infant." He started walking around me. I kept my gaze forward, listening closely. "I haven't always lived here in Hoenn. I used to live in Kanto, just like you. I lived in a little place called Pallet Town. Smaller than LittleRoot, much smaller than Saffron."

"I've heard of it," I said. "It's where Professor Oak lives, right?"

"Right. When my dad was a kid, he and Professor Oak went to school together. There was a lot of unrest in the world back then. Pokemon and humans didn't get along. The threat of being attacked by wild pokemon haunted everyone. It didn't matter if you were out in the forest or sitting in a pokemon center having a cup of tea. Wild pokemon would attack you anywhere at anytime. My Dad and Oak had to travel in groups, carry around food and water in case bird pokemon snatched them and carried them far away. They had to wear vests and other protective gear if any pokemon tried to hurt them. Back then, you didn't choose whether or not to become a trainer. If you didn't have a pokemon, you didn't last long."

"I've heard of this before," I said. "My grandparents were in the war, but Mom and Dad didn't like to talk about it. They still don't, actually."

"I'm not surprised," Brendan said. "It's hard on them. They were all probably killed." He was right. I had no grandparents because of the Great Pokemon War. "The pokemon back then were relentless. They were terrible. They did everything to try and wipe humans off this planet. Millions lost their lives one each side of the battle. It was a terrible war." He was behind me at the time, so I couldn't meet his eyes. "Professor Oak was lucky. Because he was smart and talented in Pokemon Studies, he didn't get deployed for the war. He stayed at his house in Pallet Town, where he studied pokemon to try and bring this war to an end."

"It came to an end not too long ago, right?" I asked softly.

"Yes, it did. I won't go into details. All that you need to know is that humankind found a way to bring the pokemon to their knees and set boundaries on where they could go and who they could harm. We came out on top and they had no choice to obey. After a few years, pokemon grew friendlier to humans. Just some, however. A few older ones, like Legendary pokemon, still hold grudges."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. He spun me to meet his blazing red eyes.

"My father died in that war, Mew." His words were cold. "My father died so my mother and I could have a future. It was a hard loss and I never fully recovered from it." He released me. "You've heard the rumors, haven't you? Team Magma and Team Aqua want to unleash Groudon and Kyogre so they can make this world either all water or all land. The only way to do that is bring the blue or red orb where they need it." He gestured to the marks on my upper chest. "I'll do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen to you, but if it does, we have to be ready for something like the Great Pokemon War. You have to be prepared in case your mother or father have to fight to stop it. If they-"

"Shut up!" I backed away from him. My heart was racing. I felt adrenaline coursing through my veins. "That won't happen. They won't die."

"How do you know, Mew?" Brendan stepped forward. "They're not the ones with huge masses of power in their chest." He met my eyes. "You are not normal, Mew. You have the orbs of two amazing Legendary pokemon and the genepool of the Creation pokemon herself. If you wanted to, you could bring this whole world to its' knees. You could start another Great Pokemon War. You can probably do anything you want. But you waste your time throwing tizzy fits over little things."

"They aren't little things." My eyes started flashing. "Steven died because of me. I had to save him."

"Steven is one person in a world where almost seven billion people live." He grabbed me and forced me to look into my eyes. "You can't get caught up in the loss of one life. You need to focus on saving thousands, millions, maybe a billion lives. This world needs a hero, and that hero is standing right in front of me, crying."

"Sh-shut up, Brendan!" I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks now. I had been so preoccupied with listening that I didn't even notice. I tried to pull away from him, but he held firm. "Let me go, Brendan!"

"You're letting the rage consume and confuse you." He held me close. I could smell the sweet scent of pecha berries on his breath. "Look me in the eyes, Mew." I tried to pull away from him, but he held firm. The teeth in my mouth started growing into fangs. My nails were slowly turning into claws. I was turning into a monster. My vision flashed red and my body slowly began to warm. I wanted to tear something apart. "Look at me, Mew!"

I forced myself to meet his gaze. It was soft. His red eyes were uncanningly sweet and gentle. "Does this look like the face of someone who would want to hurt you?" What he was saying was almost drowned in my sudden thirst for blood. "Think about your parents. About your boyfriend. Think about what they would do if they saw you right now." I blinked. Brendan was drawing closer to me, pressing his body against mine. "What would they do if they realized you were a monster, and not the sweet, loving person they grew to love?"

The two of us didn't notice at the time, but Steven was walking out of Petalburg towards us. From his view on the outskirts of town, he saw us. He blinked in surprise when he saw my fangs, my claws, and most of all how close Brendan was to me. He stepped only slightly closer so he could hear what we were saying. He took cover behind a shrub.

The adrenaline in my blood was slowing. I could feel my body fighting to bring it back, but at the same time, I was managing to stop it from rising again. Brendan's grip was much softer now, like he trusted that I wouldn't try and escape him. Somehow, he was right.

He put his forehead against mine. "Mew, this world is just as ugly as it is beautiful. There are a lot of things that need to be fixed, but a lot that are worth fighting for. Don't you think that with your kind of powers, you can save this world and make it a better place?" Now the adrenaline had stopped. What was left in my veins was leaving me trembling. My teeth were back to normal and my nails had done likewise. My eyes were bright purple once again. Brendan was so close to me that I was beginning to feel like there was something else he was trying to say.

And he did say it.

"Mew, I like you." I blinked in surprise. Steven, in the background put both of his hands on the side of his head."Not the kind of like when people have a crush on someone else. I feel like you and I could be a great couple. Maybe even get married and grow old together." I was so surprised that I couldn't find any words to say. Steven stood up and started walking angrily down towards us. Brendan and I were so focused on each other we didn't notice him approaching. "You don't have to answer me right now. I can wait. I just wanted to tell you what I think." Then he pulled me in for a kiss. The instant our lips touched, Brendan took a gnarly punch to the side of the head. I fell onto the sand and Brendan stumbled backwards, wiping blood off his lip. Steven was so infuriated with what he just heard that he grabbed Brendan by the collar and punched him again, right in the jaw.

"Stop!" I scrambled to my feet and grabbed Steven. "Stop! Please, this isn't what friends are supposed to do!" Steven grabbed me and pushed me out of the way. The look on his face was wild, uncontrolled.

"This man is not who you think he is," Steven said. He turned to Brendan, who was wiping the remainder of blood dripping from his mouth on his sleeve. "That's not Brendan. That's Red. Red of Pallet Town. He's been lying to you and I this entire time!" I stared at Steven, taken aback.

Then the laughing started. Steven and I turned to Brendan, who was laughing an eerie laugh. The moment he met our eyes, he laughed even harder. He stopped to take a breath and pinch his nose. Slowly, he started peeling off his skin. Or, I thought it was his skin. It was actually a ditto that he was using to disguise himself. The features that I knew all too well as Brendan's were stripped from him. His once-blue eyes, his slightly pale skin, even his white hat was a part of the disguise. In fact, he took off his hat and tore it right down the middle. Then he tossed the remains into the ocean, where it started sinking.

Before me stood a tall man with deep black hair and bright red eyes. He pulled out a proper fitting hat and placed it delicately on his head.

"Listen to your boyfriend," Red said. "He's telling the truth." He held out his arms. "The person you see before you is not only the strongest trainer in Kanto, but the only undefeated trainer in this world. I can single-handedly defeat any champion I please. I single-handedly brought Team Rocket to their knees without using a single potion. I am the pokemon master, Red."

Brendan Used Transform!

Brendan Became Red!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	51. Red And A Plot Twist!

Chapter 51

Red stepped up to Steven and held out his hand.

"My jacket, if you could." His voice was a lot darker and tougher than the one I was accustomed to. I was so absorbed by it that I was surprised when Steven took the jacket Brendan had given me off and toss it at his feet. "Awh. Someone's throwing a little temper tantrum." Red picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. He met Steven's infuriated gaze. "Do you wanna cry about it? The fact I've kissed your girlfriend twice now?"

"You're lucky my pokemon aren't healed, or I'd tear you to bits," Steven swore. He took a step forward and Red held out a pokeball to stop him. "Don't be a coward. Fight me like a man!"

"I don't hit children. Especially weaklings like you." Steven bared his teeth. I tried to push past him, but he held me back. Red's eyes met mine. His gaze was cold and unforgiving. "I'll battle you when you're ready. I feel like you'll be more of a challenge."

"You don't get to talk to her!" Steven pushed me back further. "Look at me Red." The Kanto champion did as told. "Why are you here? What do you want with Mew?"

"You think it's that easy to explain, don't you? I should've expected something that shallow from you." He backed away. "Get yourselves comfortable. I've got a story for you two, and I hate talking, so I'm not going to repeat myself." We didn't move. Red rolled his eyes, pulled a pokeball off his belt and tossed it at us. Steven grabbed me and pulled me backwards, quickly, but the pokemon that emerged did not look at all angry or vicious. It was a Pikachu.

"How?!" Steven leaned forward. "My father took that pokemon from you and you know it! You gave it to him as a peace treaty!"

"I stole it back when Mew's parents were talking to him." He returned her pokeball back to his pocket. "I'm not breaking the treaty of peace. I just knew I'd need her back before I disappeared again." Without being told, the pokemon hopped up onto his shoulder. "Are you two going to sit, or are you going to stand through this all?"

"We'll stand," Steven snapped. Red shrugged.

"Whatever. It's not my problem. I'll start from the beginning. I was a normal kid growing up. I had a mother, a father, and several friends. When the Great Pokemon War came around and claimed my father, those friends began to vanish. The closest tie I had was with young Green, my rival. The war had taken the lives of both of his parents, leaving him in the care of his grandfather Professor Oak. It was up to me and Green to catalog pokemon in hopes that we could learn enough about them to turn around humans' position in the war. We were ten-year-old spies. Green and I set out into the world of pokemon to make a name for ourselves. I didn't know my potential as a pokemon trainer until I defeated Giovanni of Team Rocket."

He lifted his hat softly, then set it back down. "Upon stopping him and forcing him to discontinue his evil organization, he surprised me with some very unpleasant news. He had already started a project after Mewtwo had failed him. He took the DNA of Mew and implanted it in a pregnant mother: Mrs. Zakuro."

He looked to the side. "Mr. and Mrs. Zakuro were informed that their baby was being vaccinated when Giovanni, disguised as a doctor, implanted Mew's DNA in their baby. Giovanni then set out to watch this child as she developed into a half human, half pokemon god. She was barely young when I defeated him in Silph Co, where he had stationed himself to watch over the Zakuro's. He promised to disband Team Rocket on one condition: I was to watch over human Mew. He wanted me to make sure the Mew that stands before you and I didn't destroy the world." He met my eyes. "I didn't expect someone who created Mewtwo, a once uncontrollably powerful pokemon, to create a sweet and merciful person like you."

I couldn't find any words to speak. "As you grew up in that tiny house in Saffron city, I noticed that you were different. You were kind and loving, but pokemon had a strange aversion to you. They either ran away, or they tried to kill you. It was interesting. I watched you grow for years just as I had promised, and when I had decided that you were to cause no harm to anyone or anything, I left. I became the champion of the Kanto Region. I fulfilled my dreams and stopped the Great Pokemon War, but in the process, I nearly lost track of you."

He paused. "I returned to Saffron City one day to realize that you were currently on the move to the Hoenn Region. I panicked and followed you here, hoping you hadn't destroyed the region when I got there. I managed to hop on the back of my charizard and beat you to LittleRoot, where I met Brendan. The real Brendan. He had heard stories of me and introduced himself to me. He's an eager guy, I liked him. Him and his father, Professor Birch. They both had heard of my story involving the banishing of Team Rocket and asked if there was anything they could do to help me. As you might've guessed, I took them up on their offer."

He scratched under Pikachu's chin. She seemed to enjoy it a lot. "Professor Birch lent me a ditto which I used to disguise me as Brendan down to every detail. The one flaw was ditto had black, tiny eyes. It took some time, but the ditto managed to disguise them back into turning blue, but the effect wore off whenever I was overcome by emotion. Whenever I was angry, upset, or elsewise, my red eyes would show. It was a flaw in the creation, but you two never questioned it."

There was a pause. "By the time my disguise my ready, the real Brendan hid in his lab. He was not to come out or be seen by anybody or else give out my position. When I was to reveal myself, I would call him. I'll have to make that call after this conversation." He flipped his hair to the side. "My job was no longer simple. Mew was here in the Hoenn Region. I still had my promise to that idiot Giovanni, so I became Brendan. But I had a new objective: I was going to get her a pokemon. Not just any pokemon, but a specially chosen Torchic in a masterball. I had given it to Professor Birch in hopes that he would be able to give it to Mew. I lead her to the Professor, who had somehow ticked off a few wild pokemon, but still managed to get Mew her Torchic. Things went flawlessly."

"Why is that pokemon in a broken masterball?" Steven asked. "What is that pokemon?"

"That's not for me to say," Red explained, "or else I'd be breaking a promise. I take those rather seriously. But, besides that, as soon as Mew got her torchic, I joined her team. It was supposed to be perfect. Everything was ready. But you had to step in and join us. Now I had to deal with you and your father breathing down my neck. You and Mew were close, so if I exposed myself to you, she would figure it out, too. I couldn't risk being discovered, so I played along further."

"Why did you give her that torchic?" Steven questioned harshly.

"I wanted to see her true potential. I wanted to see what would happen if, put under the right circumstances, she could become a trainer. I was right." He held up a finger. "I did not expect Maxie and Archie to place the red and blue orbs in her. I didn't expect it in the slightest. When it happened, I was taken aback. Even Mewtwo couldn't handle being infused with the essence of two impossibly powerful legendary pokemon. Mew took both and was nearly unaffected by them."

Pikachu hopped over to his other shoulder. "I thought things would go smoothly, but they didn't. Your boyfriend and his annoying father were onto me. When we got into Rustboro City, he kept asking me where I had gotten the master ball that had been lost in the overrun Silph Co. back in Saffron. I'll tell you where I got it: Giovanni himself. When I beat the idiot, he gave it to me. I used it to catch the torchic that would eventually be Mew's. But to keep Mr. Stone quiet to the cops about illegally obtaining his star item, I had to give him Pikachu. If I was to hurt one of you two, he could keep her. He kept his promise, I'll give him that. But his part in this is over. I have my Pikachu back."

"So you're telling us that Eve is some sort of super pokemon?" Steven asked. "You expect us to believe you wasted a master ball on a Torchic?"

"Believe you want, I'm not saying any more on that matter." He wiped a small trickle of blood that started dripping down from the corner of his mouth. "It wasn't too hard to keep up the whole Brendan act. The real Brendan kept up his part of the deal just as well as his dad did. When we got lost out at sea, however, the ditto I had as a mask fainted. I was exposed. Luckily the two of you were off in the other direction. I knew that Mew wouldn't be able to fare well without a pokemon, however. So when the ship sunk, I slipped Espeon's pokeball in her pocket. Well, my pocket. I didn't buy the jacket. I just thought the jacket would come in handy for her, which, like I already explained, did come in handy. Espeon helped her find Steven and I. I didn't, however, like that she helped you cheat to get Brawly's gym badge. That's something I'll leave you to fix."

"So the espeon is yours," Steven clarified. Red blinked in confirmation.

"Yes. I couldn't help Mew at the time. I had to revive the ditto at Dewford. She was a good alternative." He paused. "Everything after that went pretty coolly. I managed to sneak back my espeon when Mew wasn't looking. What was really annoying was that one night that Steven was kidnapped in Mauville. I had heard Jirachi and Mew talking and followed. When Mew was struck in the back of the head by a Magma grunt, I took the chance and fainted all his pokemon. The two of you thought that I got kidnapped as well, but Team Aqua hadn't so much as touched me. I beat them single handedly, but at the same time, I didn't realize they were taking Steven captive. By the time I realized that, he was far gone. It was half a failure because I had managed to save Mew."

"Wait, I thought Mew was saved by Wally," Steven interrupted.

"That's where things got confusing. During the battle with the Aqua grunts, I had used some of my own pokemon, not the pokemon that Brendan would've used. Wally had heard the commotion all the way from Verdanturf and come over. He saw me with my extremely powerful pokemon and was confused. I had blown my cover, but only he had seen me. I ended up making a deal with him. If he told Mew that Brendan had been kidnapped along with Steven, I'd teach him a few battle tricks."

"You wanted to make yourself seem like you were kidnapped so there was less of a chance to blow your cover," Steven guessed. Red nodded once.

"I got you to think exactly what I wanted you to think. The deal excited him. He even got the whole city of Verdanturf to believe that he had saved Mew from being kidnapped like Brendan and Steven had been. Kudos to him for that."

"So you weren't kidnapped by Team Aqua," Steven confirmed.

"I wasn't taken hostage. Only you were. I traveled with Mew as myself and helped her reach Fallarbor Town. Before we had fully entered the city, however, I noticed a group of Aqua grunts a ways ahead of us. Mew thought that Brendan had been kidnapped by Team Aqua, but if she approached the group and they told her otherwise, I'd risk my cover. I ran away from her out of sight and became Brendan once again. Before she had reached the city, the group of Aqua grunts had seen me and gave me chase, hoping to catch me for real. When Mew saw that I was being chased, she assumed immediately I was making a break from being kidnapped. It worked. She thinks she saved me from Aqua, we rescue Steven, and the story continues."

He took a moment to think. "There was a few concerning aspects about the relationship between you two. You see, my mission is to watch over Mew. And as we got further along in our story, I realized that I had to do more than watch over her, I had to lead her to her destiny. But the way she was losing lives was… pathetic. I can understand a few were taken by surprise, but I didn't like how she gave a life to you in order to bring you back from the dead. I had to somehow pass it on to you Steve-o, that you couldn't go around dying anymore, or risk the future of this region, maybe even the world. So I revealed myself to him," he said to me. "In Lavaridge, I told him not to lose any more of his lives, or I'd make sure he couldn't be revived. This was for good reason. You need your lives to save this world, not use them like they're revives. I told him not to reveal me, but you can't hide forever."

"With good reason!" Steven snapped. "You were going to hurt Mew!"

"Where in the story did I ever say my intent was to hurt Mew? I was here to train her to calm herself, to not go Primal and destroy this Earth on a tizzy fit. I will admit, it did get a bit off track." He spread his arms. "There's the story. How are you taking it?"

"You…" I whispered, drawing both of their attention to me. "You were never my friend?" Red's face turned stone cold. "You were just there to watch me as some sort of experiment? A promise you didn't want to keep?"

"Basically, yes." He turned around and tossed out a pokeball. A charizard appeared from it. "My work here is done. Steven can take care of you now. I've got better things to do." As he started to get on its' back, I stepped forward.

"Wait!" He stopped. His charizard blew an annoyed breath of smoke from his nostrils, but Red ignored it and looked back at me. My face was determined. "All that you said right now… did you even mean any of it? Do you even consider yourself my friend?"

There was a suspenseful pause.

"Mew," Red whispered. "At the start of our journey, yes, you were only an experiment, a promise I didn't want to keep. But…" His eyes grew distant. "As we traveled together, I realized that you would not only make a wonderful and merciful god, but I realized that I grew to like you. Maybe even love you." His eyes turned cold once again. "But now I realize that it's not me you want. I understand. I have done my fair share of lying, cheating, and blackmailing to get here-"

"I'm still your friend, Red." He paused. The look on both Steven's and Red's face was completely aghast. The charizard raised his eyebrows. Pikachu's tail swished in the air, interested. "I know you lied. I had a feeling you weren't who you said you were. But I'm going to be honest with you, the person you pretended to be was the real you." I took a moment to think. "I'm… I'm not saying you're Brendan deep down, but you are happy. You are kind. And I know for sure you're a happy-go-lucky idiot that likes to make fun of people and enjoy life." I put a hand to my chest. "But the person standing in front of me isn't who he really is. You're not meant to be silent all the time. You're not meant to live a life of solitude. You want to be happy. That's why you followed me here, not because you had a promise to keep. I highly doubted you could've cared less about me when I left for Hoenn, because something deep down in you must've changed right then. It must've. Because the man standing before me now is not the Red everyone fears, everyone thinks is the hardest, toughest guy on the planet." I paused. "The person before me is my friend."

Steven went completely silent. Red just stared at me. He looked completely awed at what I had said. And I knew why.

Because everything I said was true.

"Can you look me in the eyes and swear that the person who traveled with Steven and I wasn't the real you?" I whispered. "Or at least the person you want to become?"

The silence that took place just then was scary. Red's charizard looked surprised. He looked to his trainer and nudged him. When the pokemon met eyes with his pokemon, he put a hand on his forehead, eyes wide and staring at nothing in surprise. Steven stepped up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. I let him set it there, but when he tried to pull me back, I held firm.

"Pika…" Red's starter pokemon whispered, nudging him. I could tell by the way the electric pokemon spoke that she was confirming it as well. He pet her and looked at the ground, expression lost in thought. Then he looked to me.

"You don't understand," he said softly. Then he jumped on the back of charizard. He held a hand out to Steven, who was grabbing for his skarmory. "Don't follow me. Where I'm going is not important to either of you."

"Red," I started.

"Mew," he said, interrupting me. "There's a chance this could be the end. There's a chance it couldn't. But I don't want you to worry. I'll be fine." He looked at his Pikachu. "Yeah, I'll be fine." Then his charizard opened its' wings and started flapping. It took every bit of power I had in me to not cry.

"You're my friend, Red," I shouted just before he was out of earshot. "Please, be safe!" He looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowed. Before he disappeared, I saw him raise a hand to the air in goodbye.

Then he was gone. That could've been the last time I'd see him. And to be honest, it was crushing to watch him fly away. I could've cried, but I didn't. Because there was a part of me that knew that he would be back.

And he would be smiling.

From high up in the clouds, soaring on the wings of a charizard was Red. Pikachu nudged the side of his face, urging him to get her attention. When he turned to face her, he saw that her expression was scared, upset.

"There's nothing to worry about," Red assured. His voice was hard to hear over the rushing winds, but she heard it nonetheless. "We're not going into solitude like we usually do."

"Pika?" his pokemon asked.

"Yep." He rubbed her head. "We're going to go pay everyone a visit back in Pallet Town."

Red Appeared!

Charizard Used Fly!

Red Fled!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

Part 4: End

Lives Left: 7

Part 5: Commence!


	52. Flannery Visits Me!

Chapter 52

There wasn't much time to talk about what had transpired after Red had left. Steven had to get back to battling. I had a feeling he had used a lot of his battle time talking to Red, so his breaks were cut short and he wasn't able to see me. It'd been three hours since he had returned to the stadium and he still hadn't stopped by to see me. So I sat alone in the Pokemon center, drinking a cup of hot chocolate. I was actually staring at it more than drinking it. I had never felt so empty before.

Brendan was Red. And Red had told me he loved me. If I was anything besides empty, I was confused. I touched my lips. He had just barely kissed me when Steven had hit him. Steven was probably more crushed than the last time it happened. I had to let him know it didn't mean anything was going to come between us.

I'm not like those girls that get emotionally torn between two men. I had a feeling Red had a crush on me ever since we first kissed near Rustboro. What I didn't expect was when he confessed his love and kissed me. It hurt to see him get punched by Steven, and likewise hurt that he had been lying to me this whole while, but my heart was set with Steven. I knew that. It was an easy decision.

The hot chocolate tasted bitter to me every time I took a sip. Maybe I was imagining it, or Nurse Joy had brewed me a bad cup. I drank it anyways.

Red was the ultimate pokemon trainer. It was easy to figure that after he beat the elite four and his own rival that he felt empty inside. That's why he had followed me and Steven for so long. But wherever he had gone, was he going to come back? I hoped he did. I wasn't afraid to confess that. He was my friend. I hoped he still considered me his.

"Mew?" I looked to my left.

"Flannery?" I asked. I was right: the Lavaridge gym leader was standing by my table. She was wearing a cute hat with cat ears on it. Other than that, her attire was unchanged. I guessed she was effected by the cold breeze that had been blowing through town all day as well. She looked down at me, eyes concerned.

"You haven't moved from here in a while, have you?" she asked.

"Oh. Um, no. I haven't. Nothing else to do, really." I looked back at my hot chocolate. She didn't say anything. Instead, she sat down across from me and took off her hat. She worked at making sure her hair was perfect before leaning forward with her elbows on the table. She observed my expression while I idly stirred my drink.

"You don't look too happy." I sighed softly at her words.

"Yeah. Don't feel too good." The gym leader looked around. The pokecenter was empty. The crowd that had come to watch me battle Norman had gone home. I doubt Steven would've let them watch his match if I couldn't.

"Where's Brendan?" My heart throbbed at the very name. She saw my expression change. "Where is he, hun?" I stopped stirring and folded my hands under the table.

"He left," I answered quietly. "He had to go… go do something." Flannery took a moment to think.

"He didn't really let you know where he was going or why, then."

"Yeah."

"Well, that sucks." Her words managed to make me smile faintly.

"Yeah, I guess it does."

"Did he tell you he loved ya?" Now she had my full and utmost attention. She blinked in surprise. "What? Was it not that obvious?"

"No. No, it was obvious to me, but I didn't think others could tell," I admitted. "He's not the type that likes to show his emotions." Flannery chuckled.

"I think he showed his happy emotions a lot, to be honest," she said. "But someone who smiles and laughs that much has to have an equally dark and sad side." I nodded. She was right. "So how did he do it? Did he give you flowers or something?"

"No. He told me then kissed me." Now Flannery looked surprised. "Then he left. You can't really do that and be on good terms with Steven, you know." She was still surprised. "What?"

"You say it like it wasn't a big deal," she explained. "Like it didn't mean anything to you."

"It meant that he really liked me, I know that now," I whispered. "But I already know I like Steven."

"You're that sure?" Flannery said, blinking her eyes. "Jeez, girl. You and that silver-haired dreamboat are going to get quite a ways in life. You really got your head on straight. If a boy went and did that to me, man, I'd kiss him back. Just for the hell of it. You don't get much thrill in life like that around here." Right. She didn't quite the whole story. Every day of my life was a never ending thrill. I was sick of it. Maybe that was why it didn't seem to surprise me that much. "So you're so sure about you and Steven that he kissed you and you still knew that he wasn't the one?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Must've crushed him," she said softly. I put my hands around the cup of coffee and squeezed gently. "Is that why he left?" I shrugged.

"I think it's because I told him that he wasn't sure who he really was." Flannery rubbed the back of her neck.

"Wow," she breathed. "Sounds like you told him everything he needed to know right then and there. And he must've took off to find himself."

"Do you think that's where he went?" I asked. "Because I have no idea where he went."

"Probably back home," she guessed. "Home is where the heart is, after all."

"You're probably right." I sighed.

"How did Steven take the whole kissing thing when you told him?"

"Oh, I didn't tell him," I explained. "He saw and punched him." Flannery twitched. "He actually punched him twice. I had to stop him. Brendan wasn't really going to fight back."

"I… didn't expect Steven to do something like that." She fixed a stray lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face. "Last time he did something like that, someone cursed his mother. Called her a foul name of some sort. He punched him in the jaw, broke it, and the guy ended up losing five teeth."

"His mom?" I asked.

"What, you've never heard of his mother?" I shook my head. Again, Flannery looked around, this time to make sure no one was listening. "Look, I'm a new gym leader, so the others decided to fill me in on the story. You know Mr. Stone, right? Him and his wife were the leading producers of weaponry and transportation in the Great Pokemon War." I blinked in surprise. "Yeah, I know, right? Talk about a secret history. Everyone wondered how the Stones got so much money to start a company like Devon, so that sorta explains it."

"Did his mother die out on the field?" I whispered, leaning in close.

"No. That's the crazy thing. She died when Steven was born." My heart shattered. "He's never really forgiven himself for it. Mr. Stone tells him it's not his fault, that his mom was frail from the war, but he never got over it. Whenever Mr. Stone got a girlfriend, Steven would disappear. When he became the champion, his dad decided it was best to stop trying. I guess that's why he never confessed to having a girlfriend over the TV like he did with you." She grabbed my hands and held them tightly. "You're the only woman he'll allow in his life. Don't you realize how special you are now?" She paused. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." I didn't say it, but I thought about crying for a second or two. "So he broke a guys' jaw and several of his teeth because he talked bad about his mom?"

"Yeah. It's a sensitive subject. I just know it cuz the other leaders did." She smiled. "I gotta hand it to you, Mew. You are really one hell of a woman. You know how to live life the right way. No cheating, all honesty, and a lot of awesome pokemon battling!" Her words warmed my heart.

"Thanks, Flannery," I said. We paused. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"I actually wanted to see your battle in person," she said, embarrassed, "but missed it entirely. It was replaying on the news, though. So we're cool there. I just figured since I was already on the way, I'd stop by and say hi." I smiled faintly.

"Thanks. It's great to see you."

"So what are you going to do now?" she asked. I looked down at the cup in my hands. It would make sense to start my way up to Fortree city after Steven finished with the challengers. Yet I found the thought of leaving here hard. "You want to stay here until Brendan comes back, huh?" She nailed it right on the head.

"Yeah," I admitted. She looked at me with understanding eyes.

"Hun, Brendan will come back. And when he does, he will find you. If you wait here, nothing will get accomplished. You need to get to Fortree and get your badge. You need to keep going. I'm sure it's what he would want." I didn't say anything at first. I really wanted to stay here, but she was right. If I didn't leave, nothing would get done. I met her eyes and nodded.

"Steven and I will leave tomorrow," I declared.

"Good," Flannery said. "You're a pretty tough gal, Mew. I'm glad to call you my friend."

"Likewise." I smiled. Likewise indeed.

Night had fallen when the dinner with my parents had come to an end. We had talked about my journey (I had to make a lot of it up so they didn't figure out about the part about being Mewthree), and in return they told me about how things were coming with them. Dad had said before, but he hadn't been beaten by anyone until me and was sure to keep it up to prove himself worthy of that promotion Steven promised. Mom told me she had left my room how I left it, except that she vacuumed and made the bed. She said she had unpacked everything as well and handed me a bag of new clothes and other items to take with me on my journey. I gave her the rather dirty clothes I had in my bag in exchange for them.

"We're proud of you, Mew," Mom said as Dad took the biggest, sloppiest bite out of his dessert. "Be sure to call us from time to time. We worry about you. I'd much rather hear updates about your journey from you rather than on the news." Dad nodded, wiping whipped cream from his chin.

"I can do that," I promised. Mom took my hands in her and smiled warmly. Dad swallowed his dessert whole and took a hand for himself, patting it gently. My parents were, and still are, my everything. They raised me even though I didn't become a trainer till much later. They let me live with them when all my friends were out on my own. And more importantly, they loved me more than anything else. I couldn't ask for anything better.

How was Red able to live with himself when his Dad died? How did Steven get along without a mother? I didn't know, I just knew for sure that I was the lucky one. And like Red had said: this world is a beautiful place. There's a lot to be worked on but a lot worth fighting for. I decided then and there that I was to protect it with every life I had. I wouldn't go crazy when little things went wrong anymore. I'd be strong and I'd keep going.

That's what really matters.

"Well," Dad said as soon as we had finished our huddle in silence. "Your mother and I are going to bed. Wake us up when you get ready to leave tomorrow, alright? We want to be able to see you off."

"I can do that." They released my hands and stood up. I did the same, hugging them tightly at the same time. "Love you guys," I reminded.

"We love you, too." They reminded in unison. Then we parted. They went towards their room, waving goodbye over their shoulders. As soon as they were inside and the door was shut behind them, I sat back down at the table. I was about to take what was left of Dad's dessert when someone wrapped their arms around me. I was about to look back, but Steven held me in place.

"Don't move," he whispered. "I want to talk."

"O-ok."

"Do you still want to be with me?" The question took me by surprise.

"Yes, I do. I don't know why you-" I started. He cut me off quickly.

"Did you ever have a feeling that Red liked you?"

"Yes." He paused, thinking.

"Did that kiss of his mean anything to you?" I paused.

"No."

"How are you so sure?" he asked.

"Because yours are the only ones that mean anything to me." He let me go. I turned to him. His face was forcefully controlled like it had been when we had first met. I stood up and hugged him. It took him a short while, but he returned the gesture. "Stop being like this, Steven. We're still just fine."

"I know that," he admitted, playing with my hair. "To be honest, I think I'm more upset that he left." I pulled away in surprise. "Don't look at me like that. It was hard enough to come to the conclusion myself."

"You already miss him?" I asked. His face tightened: a sign that it was true. "I thought you hated him."

"I did," he conceded. "But when you told him all that… those things about who he really was when he hid behind a mask…" He paused. "It was true. He really wants to be a happy-go-lucky idiot. He just didn't want to believe it. Maybe that's why he left." Steven met my eyes. "He's going to find himself, wherever he went."

"And he'll come back," I promised. "Just being honest here: you probably shouldn't have punched him." The champion sighed.

"Yeah. Probably shouldn't have." He grinned slightly. "First instinct, I guess."

"Did you beat all the challengers?" I asked, changing the subject. He bobbed his head once. "You don't get a lot of tough pokemon trainers, do you?"

"Not anymore. When I started out, it was a lot harder to beat challengers. Now it's easier because I've battled so many." He looked out the window. I did the same. It was getting late and the cold wind was blowing stronger through the town. "Tomorrow we start our way to Fortree. Skarmory will be up to give us a bit of a start there." He put his forehead against mine. "For now, let's get some sleep?"

"Sleep it is."

Welcome To Our Pokemon Center! May I heal You And Your Pokemon?

Alright! Give Me A Sec!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!

To Be Continued…


	53. Thunder Goddess?

Chapter 53

Mom and Dad were up before Steven and I. We had taken turns taking a shower, him the night before and me in the morning, so when we came out of the room, we were both ready and fit to travel. Me especially in the clothes Mom had given me the day before. She clapped her hands when she saw my cute outfit: a sort of frilly light pink top and striped mini skirt. I tied my hair up into pigtails, which my dad didn't understand until Steven started adjusting them. He was dressed in a suit that his dad had created to match the one mom had got me. It was still black, but the blue stripe had been replaced by light pink. If anything, we looked more like a couple than ever. Steven adjusted his rings so I could better hold his hand. We approached Mom and Dad.

"Where's Brendan?" Mom asked.

"He's back in LittleRoot. I'm not sure what he's going to do from there." Steven saved me there. I had totally forgotten that Red said he was going to let the real Brendan come out of hiding. He must've made sure it was true otherwise he wouldn't have said it. I probably should've thought of that when I talked to Flannery. Well, no fixing it now.

"Oh, taking a break, then?" Dad asked. "Seems odd of him. But if it feels right, I guess there's no better choice." He held out his hand to Steven. Steven took it and almost willingly let Norm lift him into the air. I was about to intervene, but Mom waved me down. Dad lifted him enough to meet eyes. "Break her heart and I'll break your face. Got it?" Steven nodded, unphased.

"Of course," he replied. Then Dad dropped him. Steven landed just fine, adjusted his suit, and looked back towards me. Like on cue, I walked forward and held my parents in loving embrace. They pat me on the back. Mom started sniffling.

"You always were a softie," Norm said to her over my shoulder.

"Oh shush." Mom held me tighter. Dad followed. "We're so proud of you, Mew. Be sure to take care of yourself and your pokemon. Don't stray too far from the road and always get enough to eat, alright?"

"I will." We separated. They followed Steven and I out into the open, where the champion revealed his skarmory. It was far too early for anyone to look on and stare, so as Steven and I boarded the bird pokemon, Mom and Dad remained the only ones out in the open. Mom was crying when I looked back at her. I waved at her. "I love you guys! I'll be back sooner than you know!" Mom was too choked up to reply, so she just raised her hand. Dad held a thumbs up.

"Rub some salt on every wound you get, you hear?" His words were just as frail as moms tears.

"I promise I will!" Skarmory's wings started flapping. As soon as we took to the air, they both hugged onto each other and waved goodbye. Skarmory did a dizzying turn to the NorthEast and blasted off in that direction. We were just out of earshot when Mom had an epiphany.

"Norm, we forgot to tell her about her heritage!" Norm smiled at her.

"What? The whole thing about having Mew's genepool?"

"Yes, that! She'll need to know that if she becomes champion." Mom pulled out her phone, but Dad took it from her. "Hey, she needs to know!" He gave it back to her after he had powered it down.

"I have a feeling she already knows, sweetheart." He looked to the sky. "I have a feeling she already knows."

Steven's skarmory, unlike the other times I had confronted it, didn't try to attack me. The steel type pokemon was actually trying to be somewhat kind to me by letting me stroke her metallic sides. We were high up in the sky by the time she reached her ideal altitude. The wind was cold and water droplets gathered on my clothes, but with Steven holding me from behind, I wasn't afraid. It was breath-taking to see the Hoenn Region from this far up like I had when I rode the Eon Duo. I wondered where they were now.

I reached into my bag. The egg that I had placed among a series of warm blankets and clean articles of clothing was warm to the touch, radiating heat. I didn't know how long it took eggs to hatch, but this one seemed to be getting ready to break, and soon. I repositioned some of the blankets and rested it on its' side.

After that I dug a little deeper and saw that the Eon Flute that they had given me was still on my person. I could call them, but not now. They had told me not to be greedy about calling them and I was going to be sure to keep that promise. As I dug deeper, I found the tail feather Steven had given me to defend myself when we had first met. He had seen how terrible pokemon had treated me and I had used it possibly a few times in self defence, but now that I had pokemon powers of my own, I didn't use it much anymore. I kept it there, however. It was my first real gift from Steven.

Gift. Oh, that's right. Steven's birthday was in a few days. I looked back at him. He had his eyes closed, arms around me, letting the wind rush through his hair. I smiled. He was cute. What could I get him for his birthday that his rich father hadn't got him already? I'm sure half of Hoenn had already given him gifts the past sixteen years. It had to be something homemade, something with a lot of meaning. It was right then and there I drew a blank. Well, I still had some time. I could think about it later.

The ride on skarmory was supposed to take us to Fortree, but she tired quicker than we expected. The headwinds were strong for her and the cold was freezing us solid. We had to land halfway between Fortree and Mauville. By the time we landed, we were soaked to the skin by the rain. It was heavy and the lightning was bright. I considered stopping by that old woman's shack that offered rest for any travelers, but Steven assured me that the rain never stopped on this route. We would just have to tough it out.

I pulled up the hood on the thick jacket Mom had bought for me. It was surprisingly waterproof and warm on the inside. Steven's father had likewise gotten him a jacket, though his was custom made, made of better materials, and probably costed half of the price of my house. It, too had a pink stripe on it, matching the coat I had brought.

We were stepping up the path that led north to Fortree when Steven stopped me.

"What?" I asked.

"There's usually trainers around here," he said, his voice nearly drowned out by the thunder and pouring rain. I looked around. He was right. There were no trainers in sight. I thought it was because the weather was terrible, but if what Steven said was true and it always sucked this bad, then they should still be there. I was thinking of a possible conclusion was he grabbed me and darted into some ridiculously tall grass. I was close enough to hold his hand, but I couldn't see him.

He tapped the back of my hand and pulled apart the grass. Maxie, leader of Team Magma, was dead ahead. He was standing in front of a building that had metal gear and other foreign doohickeys attached to the outside of it. He, too, was soaked to the bone. But he had neglected to get himself a jacket, so he was holding up a larger Magma admin uniform above him to lessen the weight of water on him. He looked angry.

"Tabitha!" he shouted into his PokeNav. I was surprised it hadn't stopped working, it was drenched. "Where are you? I can't do this without your help!" The admin started speaking from the phone, but it was too faint for Steven and I to hear. From the looks of it, Maxie was having trouble hearing it, too. "What? What?!" I leaned forward to try and make out more of the conversation but Steven pulled me back again. Where we had once stood shuffled. Three people dressed in blue Aqua uniforms passed us. As soon as they were out in the open, a few Aqua grunts followed them. I could hear Archie groaning.

"Not you again."

"Get out of here!" Shelly nearly shouted over the pounding rain. She seemed to be enjoying herself because she wasn't wearing anything over her uniform. Her hair, nearly stiff from hair spray, stuck in place. Matt stood with his arms crossed, purposely clenching his fists so his muscles bulged. "Whatever you want with the weather institute can wait, we need to talk to the guy in charge."

"You're speaking to the guy in charge," Maxie said. "We're in control of it now." Archie stared at him, contemplating his words.

"You're kidding."

"Nope, got grunts in there already." Maxie said it like it was true, but when Matt stepped forward, the Magma leader stood in front of the door, arms out to the side defensively. Team Aqua narrowed their eyes. "I don't want you sea freaks interrupting! Get out!" He had barely spoken the last word when Tabitha, followed by Courtney and a few grunts, stepped out of the tall grass to our right. Steven pulled me again, this time nearly revealing us when I tripped over his shoe. We made quite the commotion, but the grunts were making enough of their own so we went unnoticed.

"Oh…" Courtney said robotically. "We're… late?"

"There's my coat!" Tabitha ripped the heavy admin outfit from his leaders hands and slipped it on before the black shirt he wore underneath became too wet. Archie lifted an eyebrow.

"Can't take a little rain?" he said with a hint of snottiness in his voice. "You're a terrible excuse for a leader."

"Oh yeah?" Maxie pulled out a pokeball. "Why don't we have a battle? I'll knock out your wimpy water pokemon like the magikarps they are!" Archie smirked.

"I'm sure your fire and ground pokemon will do just great in this weather."

"Say that to their face!"

"They're not even out yet! Bring 'em out! C'mon!"

Steven looked towards me. He whispered, "My pokemon aren't too good in water. Do you think your spheal can handle this?" I nodded and pulled out my pokeball. I called her out quietly and she emerged, her face in ecstasy. She loved the rain. Her tongue lapped to get a good taste or two of it before she turned to me, blinking.

"Salamandar, do you think you can stop those guys?" I pulled the grass apart sligtly so she could get a good look at the people we were dealing with. Her eyes rolled over them before she leapt backwards, squealing in sudden terror. Steven managed to grab her and cover her mouth, but just being held by the champion freaked her out more. I fumbled for her ball and returned her to it, where she trembled. The two leaders and their four admins looked towards us. I felt my heart catch in my throat. Steven put a hand on his hip, ready to send out a pokemon until an earsplitting whistle drew everyone's attention away from us.

Standing on top of the weather station was a girl. I could see much of her without being blinded by rain, but I knew she was wearing a torn cape of some sort. That and her voice was stronger and bolder than most of the women I knew.

"Team Aqua and Team Magma, you are not welcome here!" She spread her arms and a bolt of lightning struck between the two quibbling men. They both leapt away, surprised. The only ones who didn't move were Courtney and Shelly, who had both been glaring at each other since the beginning of the gathering. They eventually backed away when the grass caught fire. It burned for a few seconds before the rain quenched it. "You've been warned! Will you leave now, or will I have to make you?" Her voice was even louder now.

"She some sort of thunder goddess?" Matt asked. "I don't see any pokemon with her."

"Bro," Archie said, rolling his eyes. "There's no such thing as thunder goddess." He turned to her. "Hey, you might want to get down from there before you hurt yourself! I'm all for rain, but the lightning can get you easier up there!" Tabitha, who was quivered under the entryway to the weather station, waved his hands at the Aqua leader.

"Y-you better n-not tick her o-o-off! Sh-she sounds serious!" He tugged on the back of Maxie's robe. "L-l-let's leave before we really make her an-angry, b-b-boss…" He squeaked and flinched when the woman shouted again, this time through clenched teeth.

"This is your last warning! Begone or be struck!"

"Show us your rage," Maxie challenged. Tabitha started pulling on his robe repeatedly. Maxie tugged it away. "Whoever you are, if you are some sort of 'thunder goddess,'" he said the word like it was a curse, "then make us leave!"

The sky was suddenly filled with light. Instead of just flashing and returning to darkness like lightning often did, it stayed illuminated to the point of blinding us. I grabbed onto Steven, trembling as the sky ripped open three times. A jagged face with red eyes and a black smile stared down at us, laughing in a bold and powerful voice. Tabitha was the first one to freak out by throwing his arms in the air, waving his hands, then running back down the path he had come from. Matt grabbed onto Archie and Shelly and picked them up over his shoulder, running the opposite way with Archie frozen stiff like a board and Shelly half unconscious. Maxie had taken off right when the sky illuminated. The grunts had scattered about the entire while the wretched face began laughing and took off after their leaders, hollering and shouting. Courtney was the only one left standing. She popped the bubble she had been blowing, swallowed the gum, then proceeded back where she had come from like a robot.

I wanted to run just as badly as the others, but when the goons had left, the sky cleared. The rain stopped, the face vanished, and a bright and beautiful broke through the clouds. Bright blue soared across the horizon, leaving a gorgeous and thick rainbow. Steven and I walked out into it, skin suddenly warm by the blinding sunlight. It was… breathtaking.

"You two." We barely had time to look up before the thunder goddess jumped from her perch and landed in front of us. I stumbled backwards into Steven, who held me upright to meet the girl head on. "You've gotten in a lot of trouble, haven't you?"

She was taller than me yet shorter than Steven. Her dark brown hair was cut at different lengths all around the edges. The rest at a slightly more manageable length, was tied back in a ponytail. She wore a cloak that was burned so badly in the back that it was just a strip of cloth near the end. Her shorts were held up by a red rope and her socks were knee-high. She looked pretty awesome.

Maybe she was a thunder goddess?

Thunder Goddess Used Scary Face!

Magma And Aqua Goons Are Paralyzed!

Magma And Aqua Goons Fled!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	54. Zinnia: Leader Of The Draconids!

Chapter 54

"We're not involved with the goons just now," Steven said. "We're just simple travelers."

"Simple indeed." The girl stepped towards me. "So you're the god child, huh? Don't look like much. No muscle, no weight to ya, I guess you really do take on Mew's inheritance." I blinked in surprise. She held out her hand. "Zinnia, leader of the Draconids, heir to the Dragon throne, recently deemed the president of matters that involve you… two?" Zinnia looked around. "That's funny, I was told there'd be three of ya."

Steven and I were so taken aback we didn't know how to reply. Leader of the Draconids? By that did she mean she knew the two elderly women that had been in the hot springs back in Lavaridge? Oh no, please don't be here to recruit me. The last thing I needed was to be separated by Steven. Red had been enough.

"You're the leader of the Draconids?" Steven asked. His voice was a little firmer this time. "We've already turned down your offer."

"Yes, you did." Zinnia approached the Champion, standing so close to him that she had to incline her chin to meet his eyes. "But the Draconids do not receive no for an answer. At the same time," she added, seeing the defensive look in Steven's eyes, "I feel like forcing someone to train against their will does not bring out the best of them. So I'm here to join you and train Mew on the journey." She nodded at me. "Will you allow me to join you?"

"Depends," I said. "How'd you do that with the sky?" Zinnia shrugged, figuring the question was expected, and clapped her hands. A salamence soared from behind the weather center out into the open. It was so quick, I didn't even see it fully until it landed right in front of me. It was a huge, majestic beast with scars on its' wings and face. A part of the tail had been bitten and healed wrong, leaving a ring of fang marks on the left side. It looked mean, but when it had come to a stop it spread its' legs and shook off any rain that had gathered on it during the display. Then it looked to Zinnia and blinked adorable eyes.

"My salamence knows scary face, thunder, and flash," she explained. "She's not the prettiest dragon type there is, but she can be pretty scary when she wants to. We combined the move a while back as a training exercise and used it ever since." She stroked between the horns of the beast. It began making a noise that was between a growl and a purr. I guessed it was happy. "Like the rest of my pokemon, they went through training. You, godchild," she continued, pointing at me, "are going to be the same. If you allow me, of course."

"I'll let you," I allowed. Steven turned to me in surprise. I looked to him then back to her. "I don't want to be useless anymore. I want to learn how to fight."

"You mean battle." She rested her chin on her hand in thought. "Well, you are half human, I guess you could call it fight. Whatever the term," she threw her hand out to the side. Her cloak billowed dramatically. "May I test you, godchild?" I took a defensive stance.

"Ok, but if you get hurt I won't- GAHK!" She started out with a foot to the stomach. I was taken by surprise at first, but as soon as she began to withdraw, I grabbed it and threw her to the side. That was probably even worse because her Salamence just bounced her back, making her second kick just as painful. Steven stepped backwards, hands up in surprise. Clenching my teeth so I didn't puke, I raised a fist and aimed for her throat. She deflected it and grabbed me by the collar.

"You fight like a human," she insulted. "Battle! Don't fight! Don't hold back!" To be honest, being thrown around like a doll was irritating, but when I saw Steven reach forward like he was going to help, I lost it. I backed away, threw my hand out to the side, clasping the sacred sword that the Sacred Sword pokemon used. Zinnia was halfway to me when she saw the sword appear. She jumped backwards and onto Salamence, who took off and into the air, nearly blinding me with the mud her wings kicked up. She went high in the sky and looked down, hollering through cupped hands, "So it's true! You are part pokemon!"

"Come down here and fight me!" I shouted. "I fight just fine!"

"Are you insulted to be called a human?" Her dragon swooped down, aiming for an attack. I hopped into the air much higher than I usually did, got a little sick when I looked down, but still managed to slice the side of Zinnia's salamence before it picked me up in its' claws and started off higher in the air. I pulled at the huge talons on this beast but it had me firmly in place. Zinnia bent over her dragon to meet my gaze. "Why would you be insulted about that?"

"I don't mind being a human," I snapped. "I just hate being told I fight like one. A godchild has to have some expectations, don't they?" She smiled, flashing brilliant white teeth.

"I guess you're right. By the way, do you levitate like the pokemon you're named after?" I blinked at her.

"I haven't really had the time to try, but-" The salamence released me mid-sentence. I started falling towards the earth at breakneck speed. There was no way to tell what was below me, but I could guarantee that Steven was freaking out. I righted myself so I was basically sitting on air and threw the sacred sword I still had in my hands. It evaporated before it left my sight.

Ok, so Mew had the ability synchronize, right? That means she doesn't just levitate everywhere like she has to because it's her ability like a ghastly. She could probably activate it with the move levitate, right? I threw my arm in the air, twisted it around while whispering the name of the move over and over. I was sure it had done something because my energy drained a little bit, but I was still falling, fast. I guess the only real way to tell was see if I hit the ground.

I flipped forward until I faced the ground and slapped my arms to the sides of my body. I started taking off towards the Earth much faster than I expected. Well, if I hit the ground at least I'd have a ton of HP to back me up. I can't break my ribs or anything because I'm half human, right?

Right?

As soon as the Earth started creeping up on me, I closed my eyes and let the wind run through my hair. About halfway to the point of relaxing my body jerked like I had hit the ground. It wasn't painful, however. It was like I had landed in a pit of sponges. Or just one big, soft, extra cushioned sponge. It was actually more relaxing than surprising. The fall had stopped a while ago but I still hadn't opened my eyes. I felt Steven's warm hand grab me and tug me toward him. I opened my eyes to watch him and soon found out it had worked.

I was levitating.

He pulled me towards him and I just hovered that way. He let go and I slid in the air a short ways before coming to a calm stop. Zinnia and her dragon dropped to the Earth, shaking it so much I even felt it. She jumped off and clapped.

"Talk about amazing," she praised. "You are the real deal."

"And it only took you dropping her from the atmosphere to realize that?!" Steven grabbed me again. I turned off the move and landed on my feet. "Do you think you could've tried something less dramatic?!"

"She summoned a sacred sword on the first try," Zinnia defended coolly. "If she can do that without using up too much energy, I'm pretty sure she can levitate." Steven looked like he was ready to fight more, but she held a hand in front of his face and looked to me. "Brendan, where is he?"

Steven and I went silent. Zinnia's eyebrows raised slowly. "By the looks on your faces, it's like he died."

"He left," I said quickly. Zinnia leaned in close to my face, scanning over my expression to find the slightest abnormality. She really wanted to see if I was lying or not. "I'm telling the truth. He left."

"I see…" Noting that the conversation had turned stale, she switched to the main topic. "Will you allow me to join your team, godchild?" Steven and I exchanged glances. Red had left an open space on our team. By the looks on his face, he didn't want it to stay that way either, whether it was filled by Zinnia or not. It needed to be filled. So I turned to Zinnia and held out my hand. She took it right away, shaking it firmly.

"You can join," I said.

"I appreciate it, godchild."

"Don't call me that. Especially around other people. They'll get confused." Zinnia smiled at me.

"Of course. You gotta keep on the downlow, huh?" She released my hand and looked between Steven and I. "You'll be glad to have me. I'm quite the teammate. Now, where are you two headed?"

"Fortree," Steven explained. "Mew needs to beat the gym."

"A godchild participating in the Hoenn League?" Zinnia seemed surprised. "I guess it is a good cover up. You can't be going around the region without a good excuse." She put her fists on her hips. "You guys have come across Team Aqua and Magma before right? I'll need you to tell me about them."

Zinnia Joined The Team!

Explain Everything To Zinnia?

[YES] NO

Zinnia Learned About Team Magma!

Zinnia Learned About Team Aqua!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


	55. Secret Bases And My Growing Powers!

Chapter 55

We were just about to Fortree City when we finished explaining everything to Zinnia. She had remained silent almost the entire while, nodding her head and gesturing for me to continue whenever I took a breath. She seemed to absorb it like a sponge. She didn't even need to ask questions. The information seemed to be enough for her.

During the time I had been speaking, Steven tried to add in some things himself, but she favored me when it came to the story-telling. She would tell him to be quiet or just plain ignore him. I could tell he was annoyed but he went with it. He gently took my hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb. He was sure to whisper any parts of the story I had missed or left out during our travels. We left out parts that Red was significant in and Zinnia noticed but still said nothing. I'm sure she was waiting to ask it later, when we had gained her trust. But to me she didn't seem like the trusting type.

Well, not yet.

It had began to rain when Fortree city came into sight. Zinnia stopped us and herded us to the west instead of the east, where Fortree was located. We followed her, thinking somehting was amiss by the way she looked this way and that to make sure no one was looking. We approached a patch of sitrus berry trees, which Steven and I started picking at. Next to it was an oversized bush that could've been mistaken for a small house. I thought nothing of it until Zinnia pushed aside some vines that had been hiding a secret entrance.

Steven and I stopped picking to look at her. The rain was pouring harder now, probably slightly harder than it had when we had first transversed the route. The hissing of the rain could've easily covered up anything we said, but Zinnia held a finger up to her lips and gestured for us to follow her. We looked at each other first, confused, before doing as told.

We had to push past the thick wall of vines and leaves to get through, but when we did, it was worth it. Zinnia's secret base was open to us, and it was amazing. There were beds, dolls, posters, even cute tents you could kneel in. It was warm and well lit by cute lamps. There was a television in the shape of a skitty and a plush salamance doll that was so large I could ride it like a horse. and the floor was covered in cute mats that were so clean I felt bad stepping on them with my dirty shoes. I took them off and rested them on a neat shoe rack, where Steven did the same.

"This is amazing," I said in awe, sitting on one of the two beds that had been placed on opposite ends of the room. "I didn't think something this girly would suit you, Zinnia." She laughed.

"Oh, no. This isn't my place. It's pretty cool, though, isn't it?" She put her hands on her hips and marveled at it. After a second or two of standing there, started started towards a computer that had been placed in the corner. She started it up, Steven and I at her side. When it was fully booted, I realized it wasn't any computer: it was a PC specially designed for Secret Bases. The face of a girl with fiery red hair and blue eyes filled the screen, flashing slightly crooked teeth.

"Welcome to my Secret Base!" it rang in a cheery tone. "I'm Samantha! In my base, we do triple battles!" As soon as she finished, two robotic trainers disguised to look like bug catchers appeared beside us. They lifted their arms and tilted their heads, echoing Samantha's voice. "Are you ready to battle?"

"No battle," Zinnia stated. The robots twitched, absorbing the command, then lowered their arms. They backed away into the corners of the room and disguised themselves with blankets that disappeared like kecleon skin, making it look as if they weren't even there. "We are here simply to observe secret base life." She held out her hand to the screen. "I will be asking for your flag as well." Samantha tilted her head in a smile.

"Very well." The keyboard to the computer opened and a sparkling silver flag popped out. "I am a Platinum rank. Isn't that neat?" Zinnia ignored her and took the flag. After placing it in her pocket, the Draconid turned to us.

"I think you get the jist of Secret Bases." She gestured to everything around her. "They can be hidden in walls, trees, or bushes like these. You can battle their robots and sleep in their beds if you need rest. Oh, and their flags. If you collect enough of those, you can get some pretty neat stuff from the Fortree City shop."

"Why is this important?" Steven asked.

"I've gotten lost in this region before, when I was younger." She put a finger to her chin. "I can't even count how many times finding someone's secret base saved me from a few close calls. It'll come in handy. And you for treks like from Fortree to Lilycove, these'll be good spots to catch a break."

Steven and I exchanged glances. This girl knew her stuff.

"Should we get going?" I asked. Zinnia shook her head.

"Salamance's little stunt before has upset the weather a bit." She stepped towards the vines that led to the entrance. They were shifting restlessly. She pushed a thick bunch to the side and immediately set it back. The wind and rain was so intense that it began soaking and pushing everything nearby in a flurry. I'm surprised nothing broke from the sheer force of it. "I guess it's a little more than a bit."

"Why did you do that to the weather?" Steven asked. "The people of Fortree are probably terrified."

"I didn't really have a choice." She sat down on one of the two beds and started taking off her boots. "Remember back at the weather institute? You two were hiding in the very tall grass?"

"Yeah…" I replied, unaware that she had been watching us.

"Your spheal made a distressed noise. If I hadn't put on my display to scare away the Magma and Aqua goons then you two would have been revealed and otherwise outnumbered. I had the pokemon to fight them but I highly doubt they would've focused on me." As soon as she had her socks off and tucked in each of her boots, which she had placed on the foot rack. "I did what was necessary."

"But a move combination like your shouldn't do so much damage," Steven breathed, confused.

"You'd think that, too right?" Zinnia unstrung her cape and threw it on the floor. "But sadly, those orbs in your chest, Mew, have been getting stronger and stronger." I blinked at her.

"What?" I questioned.

"You've heard of the seafloor cavern, right?" I shook my head at her. "Well, it's the resting place of both Kyogre and Groudon. You're getting closer to it, therefore closer to them. And that sacred sword you pulled out today, I guarantee you couldn't do that from Petalburg." She pointed a finger at me. "You're getting stronger, too, my dear. And that's why the weather is beginning to freak out. Every time I tamper with it, especially near you and the orbs, it'll do this. Same with any trainers that cross our path. It is the true power of the Red and Blue orbs."

Steven and I were stunned into silence. "You probably think the main reason I came here was because I wanted to train you. Yes," she admitted, "part of that is true. But you, Mew Zakuro, are an unstable powerhouse of emotional energy. And I'm here to make sure you don't go blowing up the world in a tizzy fit." Steven blinked in surprise.

"That's what… what Red said."

"Hm?"

"Nothing," I said, eying him to keep quiet. "We're glad to have you on the team." Zinnia noticed that we had covered something up yet again, but let it slide as she had before. She was lenient, I'll give her that. "So when get to Lilycove, will I be off the charts powerful?"

"Most likely," she said, "but I don't know what that's going to look like, let alone what it will do to you. So for the moment, keep your faces hidden. We don't want either of you spotted by Aqua or Magma. I don't need to, they haven't seen me yet." She lie back on the bed and crossed her legs, hands supporting the back of her head. "We'll rest the night here. The two of you can take that bed. Not much privacy, I know. But it's going to be like this for a while. Best get used to it."

I opened my mouth to speak, but without looking, she raised her hand for me to be quiet. "Sleep now. Talk tomorrow." Then she tilted her head to the side, resting her cheek on the pillow. She started breathing heavily. Then she turned onto her side and curled into a ball. Could she really fall asleep that fast? I looked to Steven. He met my gaze.

"Are we just supposed to go to sleep so fast?" I asked. Then I took a moment to think. I was tired. I was still soaked from the rain. Even worse, my whole body was aching from having that battle with Zinnia. Steven saw the change of thought in my eyes.

"We won't be able to change in here," he said, looking down at the outfit his father had set him off in. "It won't be too comfortable to sleep in these, but it'll do."

A bit of shuffling and awkward repositioning later, we were both cuddled up on the bed, facing each other with sleepy eyes. It was weird at first, but when we touched feet, I felt more comfortable. He started blushing again, reverting to his normal, awkward self.

"U-um, I hope you don't-" he started, stammering.

"I don't mind," I interrupted quietly. There was a pause where I struggled to find the right response. I didn't like what I came up with. "You… have soft feet." He started blushing even harder. I joined him. We both tucked our chins into our chests, focusing on our hands, which we had laced together. I squeezed his gently. He squeeze back, running his thumb over the back of my palm again. "If that was weird… I'm sorry."

"Wasn't weird," he said. A faint smile tickled his lips. "It was cute." I met his eyes. The emerald depths were the same I remember, but were lowered to look soft and kinder than usual. "You look nice in that outfit. Much better than the red one you had started out with."

"You think so?"

"I know so." He leaned his forehead against mine. I could feel the heat from his face on mine. "You don't always have to put your hair up in pigtails. It's cute any way you do it." I paused to think.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"What?" He was taken aback. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because of what Zinnia and Red said." I looked down toward his chest so I didn't have to meet his eyes. "If I get mad, I could blow Hoenn off the map. It's not common sense to be with someone who has pokemon powers, who was created by the leader of Team Rocket, and all that. It's just not good for your image as champion, either."

"You think I care?" He lifted my chin so I could see him. "It doesn't matter what you are or who made you this way." He smiled that dazzling grin. "I like you for who you are. And you're my little Mew. My sweetheart. My-" I leaned forward and kissed him. He wanted to speak at first, but succumb to it and leaned back, placing my arms around him and his arms around me. As soon as we parted to hug, he squeezed me tightly. "I don't care if you have the power of Mewtwo and the rage of Groudon and Kyogre. You're my girlfriend. And I'm not letting anything happen to you." He kissed my neck softly. I melted into him again, letting myself give into the swirling sensation in my chest. "That means next time you have those primal rages, I get to kiss you. And you can't stop me." I chuckled.

"You're cute." I curled into him, touching his feet to mine again. "If you can help me by doing that, I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure I don't hurt you." He nudged my neck, bringing back the swirling sensation I loved. He put his cheek against mine.

"You won't do anything that bad," he said. "For some reason, I think you're too nice to do any damage. You'll punch people, maybe yell at that, but I don't think you'd have it in you to destroy Hoenn." I smiled. He was right. I would feel terrible if I even tried. I cuddled him closer. "This is probably the most vicious you'll ever get."

"I hope so," I whispered. "Now let's go to sleep." He went silent.

"I can't." I blinked at him.

"Why not?"

"I want to talk to you."

"About?" I asked.

"You." His eyes gleamed. "Tell me everything about you." Now I was wide awake.

"I can't… You don't want to know about me," I argued. "I'm boring. Nothing special whatsoever before I came here. Trust me, everything before we met was just an average, before life."

"Still want to hear it." I opened my mouth to protest, but he lowered his chin and raised his eyebrows. It was an obvious sign he wasn't going to give up. I shut my jaw and took a moment to think.

"You won't give up?"

"Nope."

"No matter what I tell you?"

"Yep." His voice was soft. I glared at him.

"I'll tell you, but you have to do the same about yourself," I negotiated.

"I'll do it," he agreed.

"What? Just like that?" He nodded. I sighed.

Jeez. As annoying as he was, he was three times as cute. Especially when he was himself. I didn't want to talk about myself, but having him there seemed to make it worth it. So I did. I told him all about me. He listened, he smiled, and he held me the entire while. In exchange, he told me all about him. We were up for hours upon hours. I'm surprised we got any sleep because it was probably five or six in the morning by the time we both decided to fall asleep. The next thing we knew, we were being woken up by Zinnia. As odd as it sounded, we fell asleep mid-kiss. And the first things Steven did when he was woken up?

He kissed me and fell asleep again.

Steven Learned About Mew!

Mew Learned About Steven!

Mew And Steven Fell In Love!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!


End file.
